Page 9 - Libro_MariaA_26agosto

Introduction

2010, and was champion of the Junior’s National Championship in 2012.
We paid the pre-purchase exam to the vet who had always worked for my
trainer. We never thought my trainer would sell us a sick horse. Howev-
er, after two months with my new horse, he became lame and could not
be ridden. Every week I would see my
horse waiting for the vet to tell me that
he had recovered. But, for almost a year,
she told me every day: ‘Don’t worry, the
treatment is working, and you’ll be able
to ride him next week.’ But she was a
huge liar. Since nothing was getting bet-
ter, we decided to move to another barn.
In that barn, my new trainer and another
vet told me that my horse had a lot of
pain in his legs, and that he was never
going to recover.

The contrast between these two ex-
periences made me ask myself many
questions, and I began to realize that I
was not the only equestrian who had
had a bad experience when buying
a new horse. The truth is that many
people who are new to the equestrian world don’t know what as-
pects should be taken into account when buying a horse. This dis-
content led me to look for information not only in Colombia, but
also in Europe and North America, where equestrian sports are
more important. I read books in different languages, began to watch
videos of professional riders, read a hundred equestrian websites,
asked questions to experienced riders and veterinarians, and began
to ask my parents to pay for online equine management courses at
different North American universities as birthday gifts. My horse’s
welfare has always been my number one priority.

Throughout this equestrian growth process, the possibility that
Marcel and Simon Delestre gave me in 2016 to ride for four months
in their wonderful barn in France played a very important role.

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