Tears of Joy

I came across a picture the other day that took me back to an unforgettable and very eventful day. It was a picture taken after a horse show of the horse that I had saved my money for years to purchase. I had been showing horses and participating in rodeos my whole life with my Mom being a huge influence. She was and still is a horse trainer and breeder. I wanted a horse that I could purchase with my money, train, and show without the help of my Mom. That horse came about in 2000. She was a two year old paint mare named GEE TEE Dunn It. I immediately began training her for competition. It took years of determination, and sometimes frustration, to get her ready to compete. We finally got our day to show off everything we had worked so hard for. It was the first horse show I entered as the rider, handler, and owner. The big day was April 10, 2004. I couldn’t fall asleep the night before. My nerves and anxiety were getting to me. When I finally did fall asleep it was in the early morning. And, as luck goes I slept right through my alarm. I was supposed to be up and ready in the barn loading my tack into the trailer at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, I did not wake up until 7:45 a.m. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my clothes, my show gear, and ran out the door. I completely forgot to brush my hair or teeth. The drive to the barn seemed to take forever. It seemed I hit every red light on the way. I was about to call my Mom and tell her I would be late, but decided not to. I would just have to face the wrath of being late when I got there. When I arrived at the barn I stepped out of my truck and took a moment to catch my breath. The air was still cool and crisp from the light rain shower the night before. There were people rushing around trying to get their horses ready for the show. As I was looking around I heard “Brittany Nicole! Get over here!” my mom had spotted me. With my head hung down I walked quickly to where she was standing, which was right in the middle of the barn