A Different Ride
Q: What makes it “worth” it?
A: “It’s a lot of hours and a lot of long days but it’s a passion of mine and there’s like nothing else like being around the horses and like having and when I’m having a bad day I can like go up and be with them and it calms me and. It’s just a passion of mine and it’s hard to stop a passion just got to do what you love I guess.”
Q: How does horseback riding affect your school work?
A: “It’s really difficult because there’ll be times where I’m gone for months at a time. I did online school for about two years and I take a couple AP classes online. The teachers at Southwest have been awesome, with helping me whenever I do take a couple classes there, of being really supportive and getting me my schoolwork and just always being there for me whenever I need help.”
-senior Reagan Rast
Q: What makes it “worth” it?
A: “I’ve grown up riding all my life. It’s not just a sport it’s a lifestyle and I wouldn’t trade it for anything or any of the opportunities I have been given because of it. And in the end, it’s the love I have for the horses that makes it all worth it.”
Q: When did you start riding/ competing?
A: “My mom rode a little bit when she was younger but she wasn’t ever as near as competitive as I am now. I started riding when I was 6 and I started with riding ponies.”
Q: How does horseback riding affect your school work?
A: “Riding interferes with school a lot and as well as a social life with friends at home, but that’s just something you have to except when going into a sport like this. It requires maximum time and effort at 110 percent. It’s difficult when I miss school for weeks at a time, but not only do I ride when I’m there, I also take care of the horses so I have to be there all week. Depends on the show, but I miss one to three weeks of school every month. This has really taught me to be proactive with getting my work and staying in contact with my teachers, and yet I have actually found out I do better the more school I miss because I have been in more contact with my teachers.”
-senior Hailey Livingston
Q: How does horseback riding affect your school work?
Q: “Riding takes up a lot of my time because I ride five days a week. I’m up [at White Fox Manor] for typically 3-4 hours every day after school and on Saturdays. I sometimes miss school because I’m away at horse shows that are out of the state. It does cause me to stay up a little later doing my assignments. It also makes my social life a little restricted, but because I go to the barn so often I’ve made so many good friendships and I do what I love.”
Q: When did you start competing?
A: “I started competing about half a year [to] one year into riding, of course I was jumping the smallest things possible and we weren’t a best, but I guess you have to start somewhere.”
Q: What makes it “worth” it?
A: “Honestly, it is a very hard sport to do, it takes up so much time, it is very expensive, and it is frustrating at times, mainly because you are playing a sport where the “ball” has a brain of its own, but the outcome of it and creating a bond with an animal can’t be beat. It is such a physical experience that you stay in great shape, but the reason it’s all worth it is the connection you make with an animal all while you make new friends. Competing is a huge part of it —there is no greater feeling than working hard at something and then accomplishing it. But even when we are just practicing, the learning experience is like no other.”
-sophmore Morgan Young