Holly is the Spring 2022 OYES Dream It Award recipient, sponsored by friends of OYES.
Throughout my life as a person with a disability, and especially throughout the past year, I have had to adapt and change more than I ever thought possible. Growing from a hippotherapy client at the age of 2, to a therapeutic rider at the age of 8, and integrating into able bodied programs shortly after seemed like a natural progression of my ambitious goals, and pursuit to be seen as successful and equal in both able-bodied sport, and life.
Since my grant from the previous cycle, I find it almost surreal to reflect on my growth as a rider and as a person. Since competing in 2021 at the West Coast National Dressage Pony Cup with the aid of my previous grant, I have both allowed myself, and found support in my community to push again to the highest levels of para dressage. I have been able to connect with truly supportive friends, peers, and advocates through my desire to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic team. I have begun to settle into a more productive and adult way of viewing myself in mind and body, and in creating my own pathways to expand my life and achieve my goals.
This has included finding creative ways to expand my image and support myself financially. I have been able to partner with incredible sponsors such as The Dressage Pony Store (with LotusRomeo), Saddlery Dresch US, The Modern Horse, Equifit, Stable Mix, Riding Warehouse, HKM Sports Equipment, and more. I feel incredibly blessed to have these partnerships. It is an honor to represent high quality brands who support diversity in sport, and who understand the means behind getting to the top levels of sport when you have added physical, mental, and financial challenges as an athlete.
I have also been able to earn the money for and pay for my own freestyle music and choreography, which was exciting and fulfilling both as an athlete, and as a woman growing into independent adulthood. I push myself further physically and mentally with what I am able to achieve, and in my reflection on my life; looking back on myself as a survivor of my own mind and body, and realizing just how much I have risen above my own previous ideas of myself and my situation.
In 2022, my team and I aim to pursue as high a level of competition as possible, particularly with my declaration as a USEF Open Rider in mind. I hope to be able to qualify for and attend the Festival of Champions at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Chicago. For the first time in 2022, Para Nationals will be included in this prestigious, invitation-only championship. As an athlete and an advocate for interabled integration, I am so excited to see how this will increase the visibility and competitive aspects of Para in the minds of all high-performance dressage riders.
“Going pro” truly makes me want to pinch myself. I have worked diligently in my lessons with USDF Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalist Tracey Hill, pursued physical conditioning on my own, and spent many hours networking and brainstorming what I can do to pursue the sport despite a lack of financial means. My team and I continue to aspire to meet the international standards of Para Equestrian both on and off the horse. We may look at this path in our own way due to the abilities of my horse (a non-warmblood), and to my financial constraints, but hopes for the end result remain equally high in comparison to current US Paralympians. I can see my childhood dreams coming together into reality before my eyes. I am truly humbled and warmed by the people I have met along my way.
I have been able to use my creative skills within the equestrian community, including video editing with Saddlery Dresch US for US Olympian Laura Graves, and becoming a published author with USDF YourDressage. For the first time in forever, I have been able to consider where I may belong in the world in the future. I love the idea of being able to use my creative talents and further involve myself in disability representation through some kind of marketing, business, or advocacy profession.
Funds are always an added challenge for someone with a disability and mental health diagnoses, and grants like OYES are vital in supporting competitive dreams for those of us who might not otherwise be able to. Visibility and diversity create a world of change and opportunity in equestrian sports. As the image of what it means to succeed expands, so does the ability to dream bigger and work harder to achieve my best in sport, and in life.
Read Holly’s YourDressage article below
Flying Close To The Sun – A Relentless Journey of Disability, Life, and Soul
By Holly Lovejoy
I don’t know if I ever would’ve learned the meaning of life without a horse. Sure, no one really knows the meaning of life, but as a kid growing up in a situation that often proved to be stranger than fiction, this became an even more complex and frustrating idea…. Read More