Q: What events do you compete in?
A: “I compete in many events, but I like the jumpers the most because they’re timed, so there’s no judging bias behind them. I do it because it’s fun…the jumpers are where you just get to run. I can let all of my style go and just ride based on instinct which, I like.”
Q: Can you give a brief description of each of the divisions?
A: “The hunters are judged off the horse’s style and movement on a scale of 1 to 100. Certain things will hurt or help your score. There are automatic scores you can get based on penalties. It’s the same with the equitation. It’s basically the same layout, except it’s judged on the rider’s style instead of the horse’s style.
Q: How do you balance your riding schedule with school?
A: “I have a program that helps me. It’s called the Upper Echelon. They proctor my tests while I’m away, which is really helpful. Other than that, it’s mostly just direct communication with teachers that helps me.”
Q: What was the college recruitment process like ?
A: “Division One riding is super new, in general. I was told the best way to get noticed is to reach out, so I sent all of my emails to those specific schools. I started getting calls on June 15. The schools have done everything else for me. It was a really, really easy process. When I was done, I kind of just went and picked.”
Q: What don’t people know about horseback riding?
A: The biggest misconception that you hear is that it’s not a real sport. Obviously, it’s not a traditional sport. Some people think that it’s not a lot of physical exertion. I think it’s more complicated than that. It’s a very specific skill set that you need to hone, which I think is often misperceived. People think the horse does it all, which is true to an extent, but you also have to know how to be around horses, and so much goes into that like training your body, balance, and more.
Q: What does an average horse-show day?
A: “Right now, I show seven horses, so I’m there for usually over 12 hours a day. I have two Grand Prix horses that do the high level right now as well. I mainly do either the high juniors or the Grand Prix stuff. The day gets pretty packed, especially because the jumper classes. Equitation and hunters overlap, so it’s a lot like running from ring to ring. There also weirdly ends up being kind of a lot of downtime, just where, nothing’s showing. So while that’s happening, I usually just hang out with the horses or my friends, but I usually just like sitting in one of my horse’s stalls.”
