Written by founder Emma Mabry
Erika Luter is a 13 years old rider from Wellington, Florida. She owns 1 horse and 1 pony, and leases three ponies. Her horses name is Emilio and the pony she owns is named Benjamin Buttons. The ponies she leases are named Elegance, Cherrybrook Just Blue In, and Coal In My Stocking. She shows in the small junior hunters, medium greens, medium pony hunters, and various pony equitation classes. Erika said her biggest show accomplishments vary. She was extremely excited to have placed in the top 20 in the USEF pony medal finals, it has been her goal for a long time. Also, she was very proud to have qualified and placed in the top 5 at prestigious shows like Devon and Harrisburg. She worked very hard to go to those shows so she was thrilled about that! When asked about riding goals Luter said, "I have a very long list of riding goals for the future. With my junior hunter, Emilio, I really hope to place in the top ten at next years junior hunter finals and qualify for indoors & Devon. It would also be absolutely amazing to compete in the Maclay Finals and all the other prestigious eq championships. I am extremely excited to work towards these goals and with time and dedication, hopefully I am able to achieve them!" Erika's goal for this show season is to place in the top ten at Pony Finals with any of her ponies. "It would be incredible to be able to attend indoors again with my pony Elegance. Lastly, after indoors I am transitioning off of ponies, therefore my goal is to be competitive in the juniors with Emilio. I am very excited for this upcoming show season, and can't wait to see what's in store!" "My advice to anyone who's dream is to competitively compete is to never give up and have lots of goals. About four years ago when I was showing in the children's pony hunters I would come home, sit with my computer and watch amazing riders like Daisy Farish, Lillie Keenan, and Victoria Colvin. I would think to myself, "wow, my dream is to show at Devon and Harrisburg like they do." Four years after, there I was showing at a place I never thought I would reach. I honestly feel as if my heart wasn't set on that, or if that wasn't my main goal, I wouldn't have gotten there. Secondly, just like every sport there is, riding has its lows. For example, some shows aren't going to go exactly the way we plan them. Maybe your horse isn't himself, or your riding isn't what you would like it to be. All of these things happen, and not every single round you put in is going to be perfect. I think one of the most important things in this amazing sport is to keep going and never ever give up regardless of the situation. If riding is your dream and attending huge shows is a main goal of yours, so whatever it takes to make that goal become a reality." "I appreciate basically everything in this sport. Whether it's the bond created with your horse(s), the friendship that develops with your trainer, the excitement that you get after putting in an amazing round, and everything that has to do with this sport. Riding has really made me the person I am today, and without it I honestly don't know what I would do. This sport has taught me what it feels like to loose, and what it feels like to achieve a goal. I also could never ever get so called "bored" of the sport because every round is always going to be different and there is always going to be something you can improve on. Riding is my entire life and I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world." Photo by @tk_themaneimage
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Written by founder Emma Mabry Eleven year old Hannah Hoch owns one medium pony named Anisette. She shows her in the Medium Pony Hunters and trains with Littlewood Farm out of Libertyville, IL. Hoch has many things she loves about showing and she says "One of them is hanging out with my friends and cheering each other on because riding is all about having fun! I also love being in the show ring one-on-one with my pony. It gives you the ability to show the judge all the hard work you have put into this (sport)." "My favorite show would have to be Washington International (WIHS) it is so astounding to be in the middle of D.C, and having non-horse people walking up to you and saying "Can I pet your pony?!" I've never been to another show like it!" Hannah's biggest riding accomplishment is getting 10th in the over fences at Pony Finals on her small pony Go For The Gold aka "GoFor". "I went into the ring expecting to goof up, or make a mistake. When I went out of the ring with a great round (78, 81, 82) I didn't know what to do. I was so excited!" Hannah's short-term riding goal is to get a score over an 85 on Anisette. "I feel like you really have to know your pony and be very confident to get a score that high, and I would like to build a bond like that with my pony." Her long-term goals for riding and showing would be moving up to the jumpers after ponies, and continue to move up to the junior jumpers. She loves the general concept of jumpers, and loves that it requires skill, carefulness, and speed. Hoch's riding inspirations are Victoria Colvin and Reed Kessler. "You can tell that they have worked so hard to get where they are, and their hard work has definitely paid off." Written by founder Emma Mabry Dominique Gonzalez is a 15 year old rider from Puerto Rico. She currently lives in Ocala, Florida and rides at T.M. Hills International with her dad Terry Gonzalez. She owns two horses and leases one, but she rides around nine horses at the barn and shows around five. She shows two horses in the Children's Hunters and one in the High Children's Jumpers and Low Juniors. She owns Ingo de Kalvarie, a six year old, aka "Ingoose", and Sharif, a twelve year old, aka "Cherry", both are German Warmbloods. She leases Bentley who's also twelve and is a Hanoverian. She shows Ingoose in the Children's Hunters right now because he's a very green horse and after finals they want to move up to the 3'3 juniors. She shows Cherry in the high children's and low juniors. Finally, she shows Bentley in the 3'6 Equitation classes. Dominique's biggest showing accomplishments were getting multiple champions at WEF, being asked to ride at Don Stewart Stables, getting an 86 on Ingo, her Hunter, at HITS, (since it was his first show season) and being overall champion in 13 divisions at local show series. Her goal is to qualify for Maclay and Medal Finals. When asked about her future riding goals Gonzalez said, "When I age out I want to stay an amateur as long as possible and work at my family farm. Eventually I really want to teach and run our farm. I love the feeling of being a trainer." "When you get to a big show you have this vibe in the air. Everyone's excited about being there, all the show nerves are mixed with anticipation on who's going to end up on top and you can only hope it's you. All the different feelings you get, to me that's really awesome. I also love the feeling of being on a horse. When your partner and you accomplish something it magnifies 10x because it was you who was able to do it. You have such a connection with these animals it's incredible, they become your partners in life. Being there for you when you need them most, like a best friend," said Gonzalez when asked what she loves most about showing and riding. Dominique's advice to anyone that's goal is to show and ride as much as she does is too, "Go for it. If you don't have the money to show, become a working student for a barn who travels to shows. That's where you get a lot of experience. Really it's about enjoying what you're doing! If you have the love for this sport you can do anything!" Dominique has always admired Hunter Holloway. "We're friends and everything but she's still an amazing inspiration to me. She's so nice to everyone, an amazing junior rider, and devoted to her horses. One time when we went to HITS Ocala, it was 5:40 in the morning and super foggy, her groom was standing in the middle of the ring holding a big lamp for her to see. she was schooling her horses making sure they're ready for the day." When asked what she appreciates most in the sport, Gonzalez said, "We're all in the same boat, having a love for horses. When one of use looses our partner everyone is there for them. The whole community is there to show their love and support. It shows how much we are truly connected. When you make riding friends they're truly the best! Especially when you all happen to be at the same show together, automatic cheering squad!" Photo by Grace Schinsing Written by founder Emma Mabry Libbie Gordon is an 11 year old rider from North Carolina. She owns two ponies, Tiffany Blue and Q-2. She Shows Baby blue in the Small Pony Hunters,Tiffany Blue in the Medium Pony Hunters, and Glenhavens Astoria, who is a catch ride, in the Small Green Pony Hunters. Gordon's long term goal is to get top ribbons at the qualifying top shows, but her goal at every horse show is just to ride her best and have fun. Gordon said, "I love showing because at shows I get to see my friends that don't typically live near me. I also just love riding and being around my ponies." Gordon does her schoolwork in between classes at a show and sometimes has a tutor to help. Her advice to other riders is to be fair so you have a great time and do your best. Written by founder Emma Mabry Lauren Fischer is a 17 year old rider from Bedford, New York. She has two horses, Norton de la Sapaie (Norton) who she shows in low junior jumpers with, and Offenbach du Granit (Oliver) who she shows in high junior jumpers and Grand Prixs with. When Fischer was asked what her biggest showing accomplishments were she responded with "Qualifying for the NAJYRC 2014 for the Zone 2 team in Kentucky, Receiving the Team Silver Medalist in the Prix de States 2014 at Pennsylvania National Horse Show, and getting Team Gold Medalist in the 2015 Junior Nations Cup at WEF." She said "It was a real honor to be on those teams and my horses were amazing!" Fischer said her short term riding goals are "turning professional and continuing to compete in Grand Prixs and Nations Cup classes." Her long term goal is to compete in the 2020 Olympics, which she feels very confident she can achieve. Her advice to other riders who dream to show and ride as much as she does is "to NEVER EVER give up on any dream and to always work as hard as possible. Also to build a very strong relationship with your horse and to never be a "valet" rider"(meaning a rider that just rides, and leaves the work for other people). Fischer's riding inspirations are her mom, McLain Ward and Lee Mckeever. Fischer appreciates "the skill and connection with the animals the most" in the sport. She says "It is hard for people to understand that riding is like speaking a language without words." Photos by Grace Schinsing Written by founders Emma Mabry
Giavanna “Gia” Rinaldi is a 15 year old rider from Illinois. She currently owns two horses, G.P.S Brilliant Disguise aka Hugo, and Cayambe aka Sancho. She also co-owns a large green pony hunter called Top That aka Parker. She shows Hugo in the high junior jumpers and the Grand Prixs. Rinaldi also shows Sancho in the big equitation. She shows on the A/AA circuit and has won champion or been in the top ribbons at many prestigious horse shows, such as indoors, Devon, WEF, and many others. "My favorite thing about riding and showing is the feeling I get when I'm on the horse. It's a feeling of life; it feels like you never want it to stop. You just want time to stop at that moment, because it lights you up inside." says Rinaldi when describing her favorite thing about riding and showing. Gia hopes to excel this year at all of the big finals (especially in the equitation); she hopes to lay down solid rounds. Her long term goal is to start her own business and become a professional trainer and rider. She also hopes to show in the most prestigious places in the world such as France, Italy, Canada, and Germany. Gia said she loves all aspects of riding, but her favorite and most thrilling is jumpers. “I love being able to go around the ring and feel like I'm flying. Equitation is about looking pretty and getting the job done well and no one noticing what you're doing. It has to look effortless. Hunters is a blast as well. I love the handy's especially!” Rinaldi said she does in fact get butterflies before showing in big classes such as Grand Prixs, but not because she's nervous. She said “It's not so much nerves as much as I just want to get in the ring and do what I love. I do get nervous sometimes just because I always set very high standards for myself and I always strive to get there each and every round.” “My horses, trainers and supporters mean the world to me. I am extremely grateful for all of the positive comments they make. It makes my day to see them. Without each and every one of them I wouldn't be where I am today. To be an excellent rider you have to understand how to learn from your mistakes, comprehend them and move on. You learn from your mistakes by understanding where you went wrong and what you could have done to fix them and move past it. My parents and trainers have always said that to me. The one thing I don't like to do is dwell on the past.” Photo by Grace Schinsing |
AuthorEmma Mabry is a Hunter/Equitation rider from Sonoma County. Archives
November 2016
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