2005 North American Young Riders' Championships

NAYRC: Support and Team Work Is Key

By Stacy Gormley

Last year, my horse, Fidelis 9 and I had the opportunity and honor to represent Region 2 at the North American Young Rider Championships at Tempel Farms.

The experience of the NAYRC is amazing. You are truly treated as an athlete and get a feel for what being on an Olympic Team might feel like. You are competing against the finest elite riders at a very advanced level, and the feeling of real accomplishment is huge. You have put so much work and effort into your riding education and your horse, and now it is all paying off.

The organizers do a fantastic job of planning the week to be tons of fun and go out of their way to promote fun, relaxing, team building activities to alleviate show nerves and stress. Your horse is treated like a star by the veterinarians and judged with huge respect from the judges.

Any horse and rider that is capable of making it to the Junior Olympics has got a real future. The goal of the NAYRC is to promote tomorrow’s international competitors to hopefully represent our country in the future. If last year’s championship was any indication of the up and coming talent that America has, we should be very excited!

No horse and rider team would be able to get to this point if they didn’t have a solid supporting team of phenomenal trainers, vets, farriers, and friends to believe in them and educate them.

I have been extremely fortunate to have the incredible support and backing of my trainers Patrick Burssens, Christine Traurig (who took me under her wing and found me Fidelis) and Laurie Moore. These people have gone way above and beyond to teach me, educate me and support me to the point that I am at today. They have shown extreme patience, kindness and generosity towards Fidelis and myself over the years and have molded us into FEI competitors.

My vet, Rob Boswell and my farrier, Jeff Hunt, have been complete blessings on my life with Fidelis. Rob and Jeff are there whenever I need them and have really treated and respected Fidelis as an athlete. I really feel as though they believe in me and stand behind my goals and dreams.

Other supporters that I have been so fortunate to develop include professionals and fellow Young Rider friends who show their support through words of encouragement and go out of their way to ask how Fidelis and I are doing, what our plans are, and how our season is going. They seem thrilled to hear positive reports and I get the impression that they truly want to see us succeed.

One of the keys to any success in life is building a support group who will have a positive impact on your life and encourage you to reach for the stars. Make sure that you thank those around you who keep you strong and last but very certainly not least, go home and hug your parents, tell them you love them and thank them SO much for their time, efforts and support, because without them, none of this would be possible.

If you believe in yourself, others around you will start believing in you also.

Surround yourself with positive people and you will start thinking positively. Remember, for those six minutes, you own that arena, so prove it! Go for it, go for that dream and always keep your head up! And when you go down centerline, sit tall and let the world know, “Here we are, and I am SO proud to be riding this horse, now watch what we can do!”

Stacy Gormley and Fidelis 9 where the head qualified pair for the 2004 NAYRC for Region 2, averaging a 65.557% after three shows, without a drop score. They had a season high score of 71.875% and are currently trying out again this year in hopes of representing Region 3 at the 2005 NAYRC. Fidelis is a 16.1 hand, 8 year old Rheinlander gelding out of Fidermark. Stacy is a 21 year old student in her junior year at Florida Atlantic University .