Guerdat is one of a star-studded entry list at the 2013 Spruce Meadows Masters, one that boasts seve

"I hope it didn't change me, but it changed everything around me," admitted the Swiss show jumping rider. "A lot of people look at you different and there's discount hawaiian vacation packages a lot of things that you are allowed or able to do; some things that you cannot discount hawaiian vacation packages do anymore. But this is one of the reasons we work so hard, to get to that medal. When you get there, you have to take these things with you, change discount hawaiian vacation packages a few things. At the end, it's only for the better."
Guerdat is one of a star-studded entry list at the 2013 Spruce Meadows Masters, one that boasts seven of the top 10 riders in the world rankings. The Masters tournament gets underway on Wednesday and culminates discount hawaiian vacation packages with a pair of major competitions, the BMO Nations Cup on Saturday and the CN International grand prix on Sunday.
"Excited, because it's one of the shows that you wait the whole year to come back," he noted. "It's been a few years I didn't come because I didn't have the horses for it. I'm really happy to be back here."
"I would say it's one of the only frustrating parts of it, especially now," he explained. "I cannot dominate my sport like a tennis player can dominate his sport or a sprinter. When you're discount hawaiian vacation packages the fastest, no one beats you on your good day. But with horses, we have to show every week, we take about four horses, different ones, and 90 per cent of the time you get out of the ring as a loser.
"When you get this medal, for me, there's a lot of people in Switzerland who would come to the show and go home in the evening disappointed because they expected me to win. I was too slow, I had fences down, I wasn't good enough. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating and at the beginning it's not so easy to get over. On the other hand, it doesn't allow you to get a big head. It allows you to keep on doing what you love to do, which is riding. I did it for me and I keep doing it for me now and I don't try to think too much what other people expect from me."
"These shows (Spruce Meadows and Aachen) are bigger than most of the other shows but also the other sport venues in the world," he said. "If you come to a stadium like this, it's special. There are a few times in the year that we feel really like an international athlete and it's an amazing feeling."
Swiss rider Steve Guerdat walks his horse Nasa in the barns during Media Day at Spruce Meadows on Tuesday. discount hawaiian vacation packages The Masters tournament begins on Wednesday. Photograph by: Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald       E-mail this Gallery Print this Gallery Share this Gallery
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