a brief look back on 2025

January 11, 2026

2025 was one of the most challenging, but also in ways, rewarding, years of my equestrian career so far.

The year began with so much promise. I went into the early spring with my best mare feeling so ready, so capable, and we felt so in sync as a team. We traveled to my favorite place, Morven Park, for their end-of-March horse trials. Sophie and I put it all out there to start our season with a normal dressage performance and clear jumping efforts in both stadium and cross country. It was our first event back since breaking my foot 7 months prior, and we made the drive from VA back to MA feeling so incredibly confident and ready for what was to come.

We entered April ready to participate in our first 2* - and we did that! It was a new venue and level for both of us, so with a less than stellar performance in all three phases, I was still so proud crossing through the finish flags on cross country. I had made my little quirky horse into a 2* horse. This is something I have been trying to remind myself of all year. We DID that.

Then we went to GMHA where I ended up withdrawing from xc due to the weather.

Then New Jersey where I also ended up retiring on xc due to the mushy footing and Sophie being wickedly fresh that day.

Then we went up to Huntington, where we finished, but not how I had hoped. After a fine dressage, Sophie was wild in the show jump where we just missed a CR by the skin of our teeth with 4 rails down. And then we had an incredibly silly 20 on cross country due to my lax riding mid-course.

Then we went to Course Brook, where Sophie jumped phenomenally and confidently around show jumping, but faced an E on cross country. I still feel she might have been overwhelmed by the environment, but either way it was a day that stumped me for a bit. I went back to school the cross country shortly after the show, and she answered all the questions.

We then continued on to the 2* at GMHA in August. Dressage was fairly abysmal, but I have already talked ad nauseum about why. We had a lovely show jump, and then Sophie warmed up the most confidently she had all season for cross country and absolutely tackled the first half of the course. A tricky question and Sophie being Sophie caused me to go swimming at fence 9, but she answered all of the questions I thought were the hardest on course - all packed into the first half.

After this I quietly took her up to Huntington, where she was great for dressage, so much better for show jump than she had been at this venue earlier in the year, but then completely unrideable for cross country. After how confidently she had come out of the box at GMHA, and how well she ran the xc at Huntington earlier in the year despite my questionable riding, I was pretty disappointed with the result. I retired by fence 5.

After this, I had the vet out to check on her. The consensus was that she was mildly sore, but nothing out of the ordinary or concerning, so we started her on Adequan and Legend.

I took her for a confidence boosting run in the novice at Course Brook in September, and she was just fabulous. I rode her on cross country in a way that was challenging her to make the decisions at every fence - I needed her to tell me she wanted to be out there. And she did! We had one pause at a fence in between piles of dirt being used for construction, so I felt that one was reasonable. Every other fence she made feel easy and truly like she wanted to be out there. I was smiling ear to ear running through the finish.

I then took her to where I had been excited to go all season - back to Morven Park. Although I had planned on running in the 2*, the series of unfortunate events leading to Morven had me entering the 1* (which, at the end of the day, still getting the opportunity to go is an accomplishment in and of itself!). Per my last post, it did not go as planned, but we had a great dressage, a double clear and WHOLLY confident show jump, and then cross country bit us at fence 2 where I sat on the fence for a few seconds while Sophie spooked at my deployed air vest.

After Morven, I felt that I had nothing left to lose, so I quietly took Sophie up to Hitching Post for one last attempt to get out this season and see if I could answer some questions. And I did. It was one of our poorest performances, realistically probably the worst one, to date. I was embarrassed, upset, confused, and feeling completely at a loss with my horse. She was beyond spooky in dressage, and I just could not console her at all during the test. She show jumped so chaotically I was glad to be at the end of the day so very few people had to witness the show. And cross country she did not even want to leave the start. I drove home with poor Reese with my head in my hands, questioning myself as a rider, horse owner, and professional. That was my lowest point of the year.

I had the vet back out to look at her, and the results were that she is very sore. They commented on how Sophie is tough as nails and stoic as hell - two things I am already very aware of - and that she probably has been hurting but likes working enough she keeps it under wraps fairly well. We also thought she might be riddled with ulcers with how reactive she was, but a scoping showed her to have a model example of a clean, healthy stomach lining.

We are now on track to inject a few things, give her a super light winter, and then recheck her in the spring to see how she feels. I feel very badly as a horse owner that she is so sore. She is sometimes truly an enigma to me because at every show, with the exception of the very last one, there were several moments of success and feeling like Sophie was strong, fit, and ready to try again at the next one.

I am glad that we know now she wasn't just acting out - something deeper is going on and we are working on trying to make her feel her best. I am so grateful for my team around me for supporting us no matter what and for the team at NBEA who cares about her almost as much as I do and is kindly helping us figure out next steps.

So far she has been enjoying a slightly unplanned holiday, and recently has taken to a handful of naps, which is new for her! I am hoping it is a sign of her starting to soften during this time off. She's been getting some hand and tack walks, days just for grooming, and also days of minimal touching. The only thing guaranteed is she gets a little treat every day :)

I am not sure what next season will look like for her, but I am committed to making her comfortable and giving her a routine where she is happy. I have had so, so many moments of 'should've, could've, would've' as I reflected on the year, but at the end of the day, we still did so much this year and Sophie continues to let me chase my dreams.

Thank you again to everyone who has been with us, through all the ups and downs, especially my coaches, my family & barn family, and Reese. I am also super grateful to Adrienne and everyone at Apple Knoll, who have somehow made it possible that I have had a horse to ride nearly every day while Sophie gets this time. I am so appreciative.

Onwards and upwards!

-K