Hoofer Riding Club – Riding Club Mentors ‘Young Rider’
By Jeanne Ferguson, Riding Club Member
Anna Rzchowski, a 16-year-old sophomore at Madison West High School in Madison, dreams of becoming a professional competitive rider, trainer of “hunter/jumper” horses and a coach and mentor of students who compete in hunter-jumper shows around the US.
A member of the Hoofer Riding Club (HRC), Anna has been a student and mentee of HRC Head of Instruction Andi Bill for several years, taking lessons, being a Counselor in Training for the summer Youth Camps, helping at the barn and now cares for the horses at the Hoofer Equestrian Center (HEC) in Belleville, WI.
Anna took a break from cleaning stalls at HEC to talk about an amazing trip she took in February with her mom, Robin Craig, and her Instructor Andi to the College Prep Invitational Horse Show in Wellington, Florida.
Known widely by horse people around the country, this huge show facility is a mecca for aspiring equestrians of all ages and from many countries. Professional equestrian teams from around the world flock to this beautiful year-round facility run by FTI Consulting to train, participate in lectures, compete in high-level shows and generally showcase their amazing skills. It is also the location for the College Preparatory Invitational (CPI), a show that welcomes young riders and their mentors, allowing them to experience first hand what collegiate level competition and above is all about.
As part of the CPI, Anna participated in two riding classes of 12 students each, and tackled a difficult written exam along with nearly 200 of her peers, placing 3rd out of all of them.
A highlight for her was attending a panel of IHSA coaches who were invited to come to share their insights about the competitive equine world, the advantages of their colleges’ programs and Equine Science curricula. It was a great opportunity for Anna and her mom to see the range of choices that loom large for next year, when Anna begins to choose a college to attend in pursuit of her goal to join that competitive world.
As part of Anna’s education in competition and as a model for the search for lifetime skill acquisition, Andi competed in the “Alumni” division, which invites athletes who participated in and graduated from an IHSA college to continue their learning and hone their riding and competition skills.
Coincidentally, Andi’s former collegiate coach and mentor was visiting the Wellington facility at the same time. The legacy of mentoring to come full circle.
Andi graduated summa cum laude from Mount Holyoke, competing with the Mount Holyoke equestrian team with her faithful equine partner Bailey (now 29 years old and still a Horse Master at HEC). The entrance fees for her Alumni class were donated to the CPI Scholarship fund, another testament to the vision of mentoring that is offered these “Young Riders” for their future and the future of the equine industry.
The CPI classes offered are designed the same way they are in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) competitions, to which the University of Wisconsin Riding Team belongs, and the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA, for High School students): Each rider draws the name of a horse out of a hat for each class. The riders have never ridden their horses before, so the test of their riding prowess is pure: The success of that rider/horse team is totally dependent on how well that rider guides that horse through the jumping course. Riders can also compete in the “Equitation” class, which evaluates the riders’ non-jumping skills alone.
It’s an anxious process, but it’s one that requires each rider to calmly negotiate the course based on their fundamental riding skills: balance and a combination of hand/leg/seat aids to direct the horse to go where the rider wants to go, and do it without mishap. No small task on a horse you’ve never met before!
For the “Flat Equitation” class, Anna drew a horse that is known for being difficult–but she managed him famously and completed the class successfully.
Later that day another young rider was not so lucky. Her second class, “Over Fences,” involved competing individually within her assigned group jumping a course of jumps that were set at 2’3” high. Again, the evaluation is of the rider’s skill, not the horse’s. This time, the rider has to sit properly, guide the horse up and over each fence in designated order, negotiate each turn while setting up the approach to the next fence and complete the course without knocking down any poles. Anna placed 7th out of 12 in her jumping class.
Anna describes her success in terms of how she handled each horse and what she learned overall about the nature of this competitive environment–she really doesn’t put much weight on her placings in each class.
She wants to her own stable, and train and coach her own flock of young riders. And because the horse industry requires considerable capital to subsidize the huge costs associated with buying, owning, caring for and competing with well-bred and gifted equine athletes, Anna would like to incorporate into her training program a student internship for potential riders who do not enjoy unlimited funds. With that sort of vision, the industry will be in good hands with dedicated young professionals like Anna entering the field.
HRC is proud to facilitate the upcoming generation of horsewomen and men by mentoring young students to grow in their relationship with these wonderful animals.
For more information regarding the CPI, visit www.collegeprepinvitational.com. Visit the Hoofer Riding Club website at www.hooferridingclub.org.
