Rough Beginnings

 

    So, my road to the NAJYRC is off to quite the bumpy start! First, let me introduce myself before I tell you about all of my drama. My name is Catherine Chamberlain; I am a sixteen year old living and training in Arizona. I have been riding dressage for the last seven years and it’s my goal to become a trainer and represent the U.S. at the Olympics and World Equestrian Games someday. My partner and friend for the past four years is Verdicci, a.k.a. Chance, a nine year old Dutch Warmblood gelding. This will be our third consecutive year at the NAJYRC together. We competed in the Junior division in 2009 and 2010, and even won two individual silver medals last year! This year we moved up to the Young Rider division and have had much success, making the Region 5 team with the second highest average out of all of the riders. 

    Now back to the good stuff. We had finished up our last qualifier at the end of April and our preparations were going great, until an accident put a major stop to all of my grand plans. I was lunging a horse on May 30th when he spun around and kicked me in the right elbow. I didn’t know the magnitude of the injury at first but, after a ride to the hospital in an ambulance, and X-Ray, and CT scan, and finally surgery, I found out that my elbow had shattered into seven or eight large pieces and several other small fragments. The surgeon had placed six screws and a plate in my arm in order to piece it all back together. Then, a week later, I had to go back for another surgery because one of the screws was too long and it was impairing my movement. I was told it would be months until I could ride again. Although devastating, I accepted the news and set myself down for a long recovery. Well, the thing is, that’s easier said than done. I threw myself into physical therapy, working over five hours a day in order to get back the range of motion I needed to ride. I’m not going to lie, it was not easy. But, all I could think about was getting on my horse again. On June 27th, after one month of excruciating work, I was able to get back into the saddle. I cannot describe the way it felt, but I knew I was exactly where I belonged. 

 

  Now, preparations for Kentucky are once again in full swing! After a month out of the saddle, I have about twenty training days to get ready for the biggest championships in my career so far. On top of that, I’m still working hard at physical therapy to get one hundred percent strength and range of motion back into my right arm. This has definitely been the roughest road to the NAJYRC for me so far, but I sure hope it pays off!
~Catherine Chamberlain~