I began my western dressage journey quite by accident. A woman who was boarding at my barn wanted to take dressage lessons, so I put her in touch with Aileen Smith, our local dressage coach. I didn't know her - only by reputation. I watched one lesson (traditional dressage, in my barn) and decided to tag onto the next lesson. Aileen was a bit skeptical as my mare is built more like a plow horse than a dressage horse (APHA western pleasure breeding), but we took lessons almost every week. I stated my goal of wanting to compete at the 2025 Pinto World Show in Basic Tests 1 & 3. Mind you, I'd never ridden the centerline in my life! We kept working each week, and in between I did my homework with Echo. She's only 5, so we're still working on a lot of body control to be able to show in western pleasure. We were all set to try our hands at a show and entered the Aberdeen Farm show in May, but a family tragedy kept me from attending. The only other opportunity I had to ride a test was at a local 4H show in a "small" arena - not ideal conditions, but I really needed to get in the pen before I headed to Tulsa to make a fool of myself. The first test (Basic 1) was a disaster! I really had no depth perception as they only had cones for markers, no sidelines. It was a great learning experience, though, and we went right back for Test 3, which was dramatically improved! My mare tried so hard to do what I wanted, and Aileen was very pleased with our performance. A week later it was off to Tulsa and the Pinto World Show! Echo was an absolute rock star! Aileen had to watch the live feed in Michigan, and when Basic 1 was over, Echo was named the Reserve World Champion! The horse that beat me is 13 and ONLY shows in WD, and she beat us by less than one point! Aileen was so excited, and so proud of how we did, especially without having a trainer to coach us in Tulsa. I still had another week of showing both of my horses there and left to come home on Sunday, June 22. I couldn't wait to show Aileen our buckle and ribbon! However, it wasn't to be. Aileen passed away on June 22. I'm so glad she knew of our success and had sent her pictures. I'm going to miss her coaching and support, but I know she's still watching us practice. Godspeed, Aileen!