There's a lot to learn from rough drafts, even though I hate the dreaded things. To me, it is merely that imperfect, messy, and disorganized creation I hate to acknowledge exists. But as my loving 7th grade teacher taught us, rough drafts are the necessary (and always painful) beginnings of something that could, just maybe possibly, end up being something great... and that's why I bother. Start with the raw ideas, try to synthesize, figure out what might be lost gems, gather, reorganize, and work from there. This piece of crap first blog entry is part of that draft process because I have decided, rather officially, that I am in the rough draft stage of my life... quite literally.
Here are some of my working drafts. The imperfect, messy, occasional "gem" moments of what I'm up to... namely vaulting.
1. My freestyle is in giant pieces. I have several sequences I think are fabulous, but can't yet perform. I have some old pieces I'd like to revamp, and much to my coach's dismay, I have absolutely no leads on freestyle music or uniforms.
2. Same goes for technical, albeit to a lesser extent. For the most part, I'm set on all the technical moves. Needle, cartwheel, and outside stand I've got, but I'd like to learn how to roll mount using the middle handle and pop nearly to handstand like the Neuss girls and I wouldn't mind being able to hold that dreaded rear-ways push up (always sounds dirty) for a consistent four strides. The rest of the routine is currently non-existent, and although I have some music ideas, I have not figured out how I can squeeze my 6 minute song of perfection into a minute 15, nor have I decided the full body spandex creation I'd like to wear.
3. My compulsories all need a lot of work. Seat and stand need the least work, but everything else promises months of drills, conditioning, and repetition before I will feel ready to compete at a world level. I want to mount as high as Nicola Stroh, to have a flag as strong and lifted as an expert pilates instructor, and the mill of a rhythmic gymnast. Scissors and flank need the most work. I need to be hitting handstands in my clicks every time, and I haven't hit one, like a legit could-flip-over-at-any-second handstand, in two years.
I have lots of barrel training sessions and horse practices and gymnastics lessons ahead of me, so I have full confidence I can achieve my goals. There's just a lot of work that I need to do on my rough drafts between now and the World Equestrian Games in October!
For now, it's back to Ithaca, NY in a week to resume training, thesis writing, and life living. My goal is to keep this blog updated with my latest discoveries, adventures, and insights as I train and prepare for selection trials, international competitions, and the World Equestrian Games! I'm looking to stand on the podium one last time before I start a new chapter of my life (with entirely new rough drafts and imperfect pieces).
I freaking want this. So... as only the famous Luigi (and my loving boyfriend) can say, HERE WE GO!
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