Horse showing can be challenging for many reasons, but try doing it pregnant and you will soon appreciate how relatively easy most of us have it. Between the nausea, exhaustion and challenge of finding show clothes that fit, pregnant women face many additional obstacles not found in a typical horse show routine.
7-time AQHA World and Congress Champion, Stephanie Griffin, gives her perspective and insight to being pregnant for the first time and showing through her first trimester. Many of us can relate to Stephanie’s first installment on this topic and she manages to do it with a sense of humor and self deprication that all will enjoy.
March 3-8, March to the Arch, Lake St. Louis, MO
I just learned that I am pregnant with my first baby! As I prepare to leave for the March To The Arch show, I am freaking out about the nine-hour drive to St. Louis, how I will keep it a secret from everyone in the barn (not to mention my co-worker that I’m riding with in the truck) and whether or not I’ll be up to all of it physically.
At just six weeks pregnant, I’ve totally bypassed morning sickness and am in the height of all-day nausea. I am afraid that I will have to ask Mike to pull the Freightliner and Luxury Liner we’re hauling behind it over to the side of the road. I somehow survive the drive but I am exhausted by the time we help my trainers, Katy Jo and Dwayne Pickard, get unloaded and checked into the hotel.
By the end of the next day, everyone in the barn has figured out my little secret and so has my co-worker, Mike. I guess I am so not good at keeping secrets! It’s great to see my horse “Squirt” again. Riding helps take my mind off being sick for a little while. It’s our first time showing in a bit and in traffic, as the few other times I have shown him have been at futurities and in a bosal. We get our names called in some deep competition but I am very worried that this may be my last show for the year. I am so sick, get winded so easily, and am overheated just zipping up my jacket. I wear my fancy jacket though because who knows how much longer I’ll be able to fit into it! I slip and say something to that effect to my good friend Nancy Wilkerson and hope she doesn’t catch it, but she does. I swear her to secrecy.
March 27, Lapeer, MI
I am back in Michigan for a funeral and stop by Katy Jo and Dwayne’s to ride. I have only ridden my horse a dozen times or so since getting him late last summer and need all the practice I can get.
While I’m riding, I get to see them saddle my two year old for the first time which is worth the trip in and of itself. After almost mowing both of them over when they tighten the cinch, she takes off bucking and bellering around the round pen like a rodeo bronc. This is why I believe in trainers! I am thankful to be on my short, wide, very slow and broke horse and will leave the two year old to them for a while.
April 8-12, Easter Eggstravaganza, East Lansing, MI
I am now 11 weeks pregnant and still feeling like crap. I get sick at O’Hare Airport on my lay over but am relieved that at least it didn’t happen on the plane. I borrow my mom and dad’s camper so I have a place to rest during the day if I’m feeling rough. I’m glad I brought it as it is definitely a lifesaver. I get a glimpse of what I’m in for as I spend a little time with my good friend Meggen and her beautiful daughter, Addison (pictured below). I think I’m up to it.
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The show goes well and we pick up nine or 10 points and a couple of wins in the amateur. I’m still sick but not nearly as winded or hot so I have renewed hope that I will be able to show longer than I thought.
I have always thought I was invincible and could do anything but I am learning how to deal with the fact that everyone else apparently does not! It is mildly annoying that everyone is trying to saddle my horse for me and telling me not to lift things. I am pregnant, not handicapped!
The trip home is not nearly as fun bad weather delays all of the flights in and out of O’Hare. To add insult to injury, I have to pull over on the way home from DFW for a nap around 2:00 in the morning and wind up getting home at 4am.
April 31 – May 3, Great Lakes Spring Circuit, East Lansing, MI
At 14 weeks, I’ve finally had a couple of days this week that weren’t too bad. I do get sick during my layover again – this time in Detroit. I’m gaining a new appreciation for airport bathroom cleanliness though!
On Friday Dwayne wins the junior pleasure under both judges and I get a first and second in the amateur before hopping off and racing to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit for game one of the Western Conference Semi Finals. Growing up in Michigan, I am a huge Red Wings fan! We make it to our seats half way through the first period just after the Wings tie it up. It’s a great game, and with 46 seconds left in the third period, the Wings score the go ahead goal. I jump up out of my seat screaming and yelling along with all the other fans and quickly discover why you’re not supposed to make sudden movements when you’re pregnant. Everything goes black for a minute and there’s a dull roar in my ears drowning out the game noise. Just as I think I’m going to go crashing down the stands, I get a hold of myself and decide from then on to stick to cheering with my feet on the ground.
Back at the horse show, my horse somehow cut his forearm pretty badly and by the last day it’s really swollen. While he’s still sound, he’s super tired and buries his head in the dirt the last day. We end up being disqualified – deservedly so – but all in all it’s been a great weekend and the trip home is much better than the previous one.
May 7-10 – Spartan Spectacular, East Lansing, MI
It is just one week later but I’m finally starting to feel better than I have in what feels like forever. Everyone said it would be like a light switch after the first trimester and I was a little worried because it hung around for a couple extra weeks, but there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Thankfully my show clothes still fit – I’ve only gained a few pounds, probably due to being sick all the time. Katy Jo starts a pool with everyone in the barn betting on the sex and weight of the baby. We end up with six people guessing that it will be a boy and six others guessing a girl. I am sure that the ones in the running in the end will either be trying to cram food down my throat or starve me to win the weight part.
I am finally starting to figure out how to ride my horse. So many years of horsemanship and equitation makes it next to impossible for me to let my toes down and heels up and move my legs in front of my seat. But with Dwayne and Katy constantly reminding me, I am making progress. Dwayne wins the junior, I get another first and second in the amateur and even more importantly Squirt keeps his head up!
It occures to me that I won’t be showing again until the Tom Powers in June so I am pretty worried about what I’ll be able to wear by then. I wonder if I’ll even fit in the saddle or not. Regardless, I’m sure I will be ready to escape the Oklahoma summer at that point, and will just go with it and enjoy the ride until it no longer feels comfortable.
I realize that these next few months will be the last time that it’s so easy to travel and I might as well take advantage of it. My husband is not so eager to let me drive 1000 miles by myself anymore however, so at least I will have company on the next trips. We’ll see how he feels after I’ve made him stop at rest areas 20 times along the way. I’ve made the trip from Oklahoma to Michigan by myself dozens of times so again, accepting my new limitations is a little frustrating.
On the way home from the show, I realize that I’m not as out of the woods as I was beginning to think. As soon as I get off the plan I have to make another emergency trip to the bathroom to get sick – this time in Atlanta. Good times.
Thanks Stephanie, we will look forward to your next installment.
