The Secret Life of McKenna: It’s showtime!

Still in recovery, junior blogger McKenna Oxenden had her trainer take the reins for Gigi’s first event of the season. Judging from the number of exclamation marks she used, it went well!

From McKenna:

It’s safe to say that the first event of the season was a success! Not only was it successful but Gigi even managed to earn herself a silver star from Courtney—and we all know those are not easy to come by!

We were all pretty happy with dressage. Gigi put in a pretty good test, very accurate as to where she is in her training. It was very consistent and only had a few minor bobbles but for the most part very well done. Unfortunately, the score did not reflect her test and received a 40—we were bummed but it happens. All that matters is that Gigi went in the ring and did what she was supposed to do!

Show jumping for Gigi and Courtney went extremely well! They had a double clear round and it looked pretty awesome. It was forward, very positive, and Gigi listened! Not to mention the fact that she didn’t even touch a rail!

Cross country followed in pursuit of all the other phases and proved to be great! There were a few very airy, empty fences that we were a bit nervous about as Gigi tends to question those a bit more but she didn’t bat an eye at anything! And again, she put her listening ears on and respected Courtney’s aids! The majority of her round was pretty perfect with the exception of a slight hesitation at the water and leaving out some strides before downhill fences… safe to say she will be schooling lots of those!

To put the cherry on top of everything, a pretty seventh place purple ribbon was brought home!! It was an extremely competitive division with about 20 people in it—awesome!! All in all, it was a really great day of competition. For being the first event of the season, I don’t think it could have gone any better! I am thrilled with how well Gigi is doing with Courtney. She’s really improved significantly and I am super excited to get back in the saddle and start competing.

Go eventing, go Gigi, and go Defying Gravity Eventing!

About the Author

McKenna Oxenden is a 16-year-old junior in high school, hailing from Columbia, MD. McKenna is a training level event rider and is currently campaigning the 15.1 Trakhener Cross, “Gossip Girl” a.k.a. Gigi and previously competed 13.2 pony superstar, Dorito Cooler Ranch, through training level. She has worked for CCI4* event rider, Emily Beshear and currently trains with Courtney Sendak of Defying Gravity Eventing. She is also an active ambassador to JustWorld International. When McKenna isn’t busy writing or riding, she is taking photographs and playing in Photoshop. You can see some of her work by liking her Facebook page (Mckenna Erinn Photography).