Dom and Jimmie
Greetings from the US of A. Most Australian eventing fans will have no clue who I am and the very few that do will probably just remember me as the scruffy Queensland guy who worked for Burto a few years ago that often had bailing twine for a belt. Yep that was/is me. I cut my own hair now and most of the time I wear a belt ... made of leather.
Read my bio if you are interested. It is a romanticised version of my equestrian life but here I’ll give you the more concise and probably accurate version. I am another busted ass horse rider trying to chase the dream. I ride horses everyday, I work my butt off and most nights I hit my air mattress exhausted with a belly full of 2 minute noodles. I do however have a few fantastic things going for me. First is a beautiful wife, Jimmie, who also rides and is from Texas (about the closest an American can be to being Australian), my two dogs Willow and Vegemite, a couple of promising horses and a small business ‘Schramm Equestrian’ that is just beginning to come off the ground.
I am, for most of the year, located in possibly the most beautiful horse country on the globe in Chester County, Pennsylvania. This area is also home to fellow Aussie Ryan Wood and Aussie 'Traitors' Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton. The foxhunting, steeplechasing, eventing and just general horse history makes this spot such a hub in America for anyone pursuing a life of competitive riding. The winters are harsh, so for at least three months a year we all flee south to other eventing meccas like Aiken, South Carolina or Ocala, Florida. This allows us to keep the horses in work and competing for longer.
There is a lot to like about the sport of eventing over here. It’s an exciting place to be at this stage of my career and I am so glad I made the move. It’s not all roses though and if you are not prepared to basically kiss all that you’ve worked for as far as a reputation goodbye and start from scratch as a relative nobody, then don’t start packing your bags just yet. It’s a tough slog and only now I am I finally starting to see some very small but welcoming glimpses of progress.
I am the creator of ‘Evention’ – a new online and FREE weekly TV show that produces horsey how to videos. They are pretty fresh and I am very proud with how they are turning out. Do me a favour and check them out or even better, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/eventiontv
Sorry for the shameless plug, but you know how it is.
Either way I am so pleased to become one of the newest bloggers on An Eventful Life. I will do my best to share some of the eventing happenings over here and also too, just share some of the experiences of a young Aussie bloke from Charleville trying to crack into the big leagues. The season has already come to an end here so as we look to a new and exciting season, Schramm Equestrian will be preparing to launch a full scale assault on the US eventing scene – and I hope to have you guys along for the ride.
And by the way orange twine is better than blue for belts!
Schrammo
