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By LAUREN
KERSHNER
Reporter
“I was always that crazy horse girl in school and it was that drive that helped me to be the best rider I could be.
“When I was young, my mom enrolled me in the Berks County 4-H program. I was around 9 years old at the time and the club I was in was the Rocky Mountain Riders 4-H Horse Club. The club was full of my friends from the barn that I was riding at at the time.
“My parents didn’t want to put a lot of money into horses at first, allowing me to lease (borrow) horses from the stable, and when they finally bought me my horse, I was overwhelmed.
“When he was bought I was in sixth grade and my horse, Skip, didn’t know anything – at least it felt that way to me. My friends at the barn were all sisters and really helped me train my horse.
“I started slow with him, we started with what people call western pleasure, which is something neither of us really enjoyed. However, I trusted my friends and my trainer, knowing that I needed the basics to be able to do the speed events – what I really wanted to do in the first place.
“It was my determination with getting through the basics. In fact it was determination that 4-H taught me and that I carry with me today.
“I was determined to be able to do the speed events, and I did.
“When Skip and I finally did the speed or gymkahana events, I was excited. That was what my horse was the best at.
“As we progressed in our years of 4-H, we were getting better each year. In some of those cases we both lost and gained friends.
“Again, it was determination to be our best that kept me going.
“In my freshman year of high school, back in 2005, we had our first opportunity to compete at the Pennsylvania State 4-H Horse Show. While we did not place, I could not have been happier with how my determination paid off.
“And it continued for the next two years when I competed again in other events, even in the year 2007 we placed eighth out of 23 riders in the Raised Box Keyhole Ponies division.
“I felt the harsh sting of reality though in the fall of 2008 when, while practicing for my last qualifying show before possibly moving on to the state show, I fell off of Skip.
“I fell and broke my wrist. I didn’t even fall that hard. I literally just slipped off the side of Skip and when my wrist hit the ground, my hip hit it and that was all she wrote. It was broken, and not just broken, it required surgery.
“I felt like my whole world was ripped out from under me and I lost all determination to continue.
“However, I still went to the qualifying show and later to the state show to cheer on my friends and support my county; that is where I learned how to be a good team player.
“I went on that next year, not only did I qualify for states, but I started college.
“While at school, I didn’t stop riding, in fact I rode twice a week. The problem was it was not the going fast that I was used to. It was an English Hunter pleasure style that I was not used to.
“However I was determined to get used to it and I quickly learned to enjoy it.
“It was then that my determination led Skip and I into the next step of our lives, becoming a better pair and team.
“To finish off a long full-time showing career in 2009, I went back and placed eighth again in the same division, but we beat our time from the first time we placed in the event. That was all I ever wanted.
“My determination was never to beat my competition – even though it was fun to win. No. My determination was to always go out and be the best rider I could be.
“My showing taught me how to be a better overall person and it taught me how to persevere and be determined to finish everything that I do in my life.”