Last year, GoHorseShow featured Novice Amateur Larisa Affeldt, wife of two-time World Series Champion pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, Jeremy Affeldt. After this past week at the Novice West Championship Show in Las Vegas, Larisa’s trophy count is quickly catching up with her husband who was busy pitching for the Giants in the Playoffs while Larisa was in Las Vegas.
Larisa had a great show with her bay mare, UF Certainly A Priss, and the team won the Novice Amateur All-Around with reserve championships in the western riding and horsemanship and a third in the showmanship.
“I had a great time showing at the Novice West Championship,” Affeldt told GoHorseShow on Monday. “I tried to stay mentally focused on each class and not think about the All-Around title, but going in that was my goal and it does feel amazing to walk away having accomplished that. Today, it is finally sinking in that it did actually just happen!”
Affeldt credits her trainer, Nancy Renfro for her recent success. “We have amazing chemistry. This is really just the fifth show we have been to together and of those five shows, I have been the All-Around Novice Amateur at four of them and won two saddles in the process; Sun and Surf, Oregon Summer Classic, Arizona Fall Classic and now the Novice West Championship.
While Larisa was showing in Las Vegas, her husband was pitching in the playoffs for the Giants, and she had to resort watching him on her phone and on television between classes. Last Wednesday, on the first day of the show in Vegas, the Giants were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wildcard elimination game. If they lost that game they would have gone home, and the season would have been over…but they won. Next up was the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Washington Nationals.
While in Vegas, Affeldt paid attention to the games anytime they were going on, and she was continually checking the score to see if Jeremy might pitch.
“He is a relief pitcher,” Affeldt explains. “So, I never know exactly when he will pitch, but, usually, in the playoffs, the odds are good that he will be pitching at the end of the game, and it will be a very intense situation. He did pitch in the first two games of the NLDS both on Friday and again on Saturday. On Friday, I was watching the score of the game and when I saw it was the 7th inning and we were winning 3-0. I told Nancy (Renfro) we needed to go find good phone reception so I could listen to the game on my phone because I thought Jeremy might pitch.”
Affeldt continues, “So, Nancy and I were standing by the trail arena with the game on my phone between us listening to the game. People walked by wondering what we were doing. Jeremy just pitched one out that game and yes, I was a little nervous. Nancy and I both screamed and cheered when he got the out. I was dressed and ready to go back for my trail finals and we had the phone between us listening to the play by play at the end of the trail arena.”
On Saturday, after Larisa had just won a reserve championship in the horsemanship, she knew she had to go find a television (pictured right) to watch her husband who ended up pitching the 10th inning. “So I was sitting there telling Nancy how I try not to get nervous while he’s pitching,” Larisa recalls. “I like to live in the moment and enjoy the fact that I get to watch my husband play this game at the big league level. Well, ‘try’ was the key word. I did get a little nervous that inning, but we both cheered and clapped when he got a double play ball that ended the inning. The Giants did end up winning that game in the 18th inning.”
Larisa adds, “Jeremy is very supportive of me following my dreams and
competing on this level with AQHA. That said…I did change my ticket to
fly straight from Las Vegas back to San Francisco on Sunday after I was
done showing. I missed the awards presentation of the All-Around, but I
got to see my kids and husband, and we all had a great evening swimming
and being reunited in San Francisco before the third game of the NLDS
on Monday.”
On Monday night, Larisa was talking to GoHorseShow while sitting at AT&T Park in San Francisco watching Game 3 of the NLDS and waving her rally flag. Unfortunately, the Giants lost the game but beat the Nationals on Tuesday night to advance to the National League Championship Series.
“If they make it all the way to the World Series, I will take the kids out of school again and probably change my ticket and fly straight from the Congress to the World Series!” Affeldt says. “We will probably have a couple more situations like we did in Vegas but this time we will be watching and listening to games while I’m showing in Ohio.”
Affeldt adds, “This is my last year in novice in everything except maybe trail, so I am ready to go and make the most of it. One class at a time and with great focus and determination. I’m hoping the Giants don’t cause too much of a distraction and I am hoping instead it will be more of a welcome break from all the horse stuff. Something else to think about for a little bit so I don’t over obsess about the next pattern or the next class. Congress here we come!”
CLICK HERE to view Larisa’s latest ad in the Congress issue of GoMag.
