Last November, an email arrived in my inbox from my previous student and dear friend Sara DePape, announcing a save-the-date for her upcoming wedding in Belgium in August. I excitedly shared it with Scott* and thus began a nearly 9 month trip planning feat that would culminate with an unforgettable European adventure.
*I would be remiss to not mention that when I first pitched the idea of us going to Belgium for the wedding and turning it into a European vacation, Scott’s first response was, and I quote: “What even is there to do in Europe?” He was serious when he asked me this. I got lots of mileage out of this quotable quote over the next several months when I would share it with friends and clients- those from Europe found it especially funny.
The DePape family played a pivotal role in my professional success and I will be forever grateful to them for trusting me, at the time, an aspiring equine professional in my mid 20’s that didn’t know what I didn’t know, with their lovely daughter, her horse(s), and their truck and trailer- turning us loose to horse show and play in the Southeast. Sara was 12 when I first started working with her and I would continue to coach her throughout her early college years until her last competition horse retired.
Sara was the first student I ever coached at the Preliminary level of eventing, was the first United States Pony Club member that I would ever prep for the B certification, and was the first student I would have to make an International Exchange team. All of these successes in Sara’s riding journey were much more a result of her ability and aptitude as a rider and the fact that she is an amazing human being- not so much a result of my coaching.
It was Sara’s mother Nadine who introduced me to the Pony Club Interpacific Exchange when she first asked if it was something Sara should apply for, and if so, would I be willing to write a letter of recommendation for her? Heck yes she should do it and heck yes I would write a letter, and oh, look at that! They need a coach for the team… maybe I should apply, because how much fun would it be to get to go to China and Hong Kong!? Even though I was quite involved with USPC and was aware of most of the international exchanges I had somehow never heard of the IPE. Unsurprisingly Sara was chosen as a team rider, and somehow I was lucky enough to be chosen as the team coach. We would spend 2 weeks in Asia on a trip that would be life shaping in that it would introduce me to people that would go on to become not just friends but more like family (the Torsilieri family) and would kick off my decade-long involvement with the IPE which would eventually send me to 5 countries and 3 continents.
Sara’s parents are from Ghent which is in the Flemish region of Belgium, hence the Belgian wedding. I always enjoyed their stories of their homeland- a country rich with world class horses, beer, history, WW1 and WW2 significance, chocolate, countryside, and castles. The idea of being able to experience these things was captivating and the idea of getting to witness Sara’s special day filled me with love and pride.
Nadine and Wim still live in the Anderson area so Scott and I met them for lunch one Sunday to ask for their advice and guidance on planning the trip to Europe. I was tickled for them to meet Scott and they all hit it off immediately. When we were done catching up they mapped out a suggested itinerary that would have us starting our trip in Amsterdam, making our way to Belgium for the few days surrounding the wedding, and then ending in Paris. They offered guidance on train travel as well as things to do in each of the areas that we would be in. 
With that rough outline of an itinerary in mind we got down to trip planning…
Scott is a planning master, and trip planning is an especially strong suit for him. He found the most thorough (as well as most intimidating and overwhelming) spreadsheet for trip planning and travel that exists and that was our template. We learned lots about each other during the planning process and I am fairly sure that I drove him crazy during it. I have traveled internationally a good bit and have organized my fair share of vacations and events but my own vacation planning style tends to be a lot more open ended and vague than his and involves lots more handwritten notes and random emails scattered throughout my overflowing inbox. He is much more strategic, detail oriented, and is very good at consolidating information in one place.
Over the next several months we managed to get all of our travel ducks in a row and found ourselves sitting on an airplane bound for Amsterdam on August 1st with only one roll-aboard suitcase, two backpacks, and a bag of snacks in tow. Europe here we come!
