Every rider knows that progress isn't always a straight line. The journey is filled with incredible highs, unexpected challenges, and moments that test your patience and determination. But it's those unforgettable rides, hard-earned milestones, and the unique partnership we share with our horses that make every setback worth overcoming.
Whether you're riding your first horse or competing at the highest levels of the sport, obstacles are part of the journey. What truly defines us isn't the setback itself, it's how we respond and continue moving forward.
We sat down with 5* event rider Brooke Burchianti to reflect on a season that looked very different than she had planned. While her sights were set on competing at the Kentucky 5*, this year reminded her, and all of us, that sometimes the greatest lessons come from the paths we never expected to take.
Going into this season, I was excited to try again for the Kentucky 5* event with my top horse, Astro. I was also hoping to do a 3*-Long with my other horse, Aries, and then potentially move him up to the Advanced level in late spring or early summer. I went south for the winter and had my heart set on working with these horses, moving up the levels, and improving my results with them this year.
During my first cross-country school, I knew immediately that Astro was not right. We looked into it further and found that he had EPM pretty badly and a strained tendon in his front leg. It all sort of made sense and explained a lot of odd behavioral issues that we experienced with him last fall. I knew at that point Kentucky was probably out of the picture, and I honestly wasn't too upset about it. I knew it was in his best interest to give him time to heal his body, and I was feeling like we needed to gain his confidence back a bit anyway.
What really bummed me out was learning that the fall 5* at Maryland had been canceled. It's different for us eventers, as there are only two 5s (currently back down to one) in this country. When I found out I'd have to wait a whole year just to give it another shot with Astro, well, I was pretty upset.
Because of Astro's setback, my focus for April and into May was on Aries. I felt very lucky to have another upper-level horse to concentrate my attention on. However, my plans with Aries went south when he pulled up a bit lame after our final gallop in preparation for the three-day at Tryon. I was in the process of figuring out what was going on with Aries when Astro fell extremely ill. Next thing I knew, I had two horses in the hospital. Aries went in for an MRI, and although there was nothing severely wrong, he was going to need several months of taking it slow and not competing. Astro stayed there for almost three weeks, and there was one point when I was seriously worried he might not pull through. The vets were really concerned he may founder, but luckily, because they were so proactive, we never did get any rotation of the coffin bone. We still aren't 100% sure what made him so ill. The final consensus was a reaction to a strangles vaccine from a month earlier, but the vet told me there were many holes in that theory. The important thing is that he's okay now and has made a full recovery.
So, that scary illness pushed Astro's recovery back even further. It's a relief to say that I'm back to working him six days a week. He's been jumping again, going on trot sets, doing some light conditioning, and things are finally starting to look normal for us again. Aries is also back to light work after having spent some time swimming to stay fit, which helped immensely.
I think the whole month of May and part of June, I felt a little dizzy and ill from all the stress I was taking on. I was also driving five hours one way to visit my horses at the hospital, which didn't help my mental state at all. In addition, I was going through some big changes in my personal life around the same time, so the stress was just building up. I just remember feeling so dull, like I couldn't take the emotions anymore, so my body tried to protect me by making me feel numb. Luckily, I do have some young horses that I was able to work on while my top two horses were out. That helped me a LOT mentally. Going hiking and working out did, too. Even though it was difficult, I was just trying to appreciate the world, even when it's throwing lemons at me.
I think it's important to remember that in this sport, you have a teammate, just as much as soccer, baseball, basketball players, etc., do. It's just that our teammates can't talk, but they do communicate with us, though sometimes the message gets lost in translation. I could have been disappointed that I didn't get to achieve what I wanted this year, but my teammates weren't healthy, and so I am just grateful they are here and will hopefully have better days and courses ahead of them. We can do everything to prevent injuries from happening, but just like with people, injuries are inevitable.
Success for me hasn't really changed. I think it's the little wins that matter most anyway. I still feel like I've been successful this year, just in a different way than I anticipated. My young horses have made a lot of progress, my business has been doing well, and I've gotten to enjoy some of my students' wins with them this season. I'm a bit more appreciative of the little things right now, and I think that's good. When things seem to go wrong, it gives you a different perspective, and you realize it always could be worse.
This season has definitely reminded me that no matter how much you plan for things, a metaphorical wrench can always be thrown into your goals, and it's important to be flexible when that happens. This season has also made me so thankful to have a string of horses coming along. I do not take that privilege for granted, and I feel extremely lucky that I was able to keep riding horses through all of this because I know not everyone has that luxury. I'm tentative to plan too far into the future now, but I'm hoping to take Astro to some 4*s this fall and MAYBE do the US Open Final at Morven in October, but we will see! I'm hoping to move Aries up to Advanced this fall, too, but only time will tell. I'm actually really excited to show my young horses some more this year, even though they are at the lower levels. I've been having fun with them!
If you're also experiencing some setbacks this season, feel free to contact me. We can commiserate together. I think injuries and setbacks are a lot more common than we think. Social media is wonderful for a lot of things, but it also tends to only show the highlights of people's lives and not the setbacks. There's nothing wrong with doing that, but it's just not reality. Everyone who has a ton of success also has a lot of failures. For example, I think I've fallen off my 5* horse (Astro) more than the naughty pony I rode when I was nine and barely knew how to post the trot. Lol.
Success really isn't linear, you move forward a step, then back two steps sometimes. I wish more people understood that without failures, you wouldn't have success. I remember seeing this quote on the wall at the Roland-Garros Tennis Stadium in France that said, "Victory belongs to the most tenacious." That stuck with me because I believe it's incredibly true. Those who never give up through hardships are the ones who will be victorious.
Next time you're feeling a little down or thinking that you're not where you want to be, I hope my story helps you remember that everyone is on a different timeline to finding their success. It's okay to feel sorry for yourself and be sad for a little bit, but then remember to keep kicking on because success is on the other side of that wall, you just have to keep chipping away at it.