Age: 16

Horses: Borealus, 10-year-old, Argentine Warmblood owned by the rider

Trainer: Steve Weiss

Equitation Competitive Highlights:
2009 Devon (Pa.) best child rider on a horse
2009 Devon (Pa.): Washington International Horse Show Equitation Classic, 1^st
2009 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Show (N.Y.): Governor’s Perpetual Hunt Seat Trophy, 2^nd
2009 Essex Classics/USHJA Hunterdon Equitation Cup Classic, 4^th

Pre-show routine: “The night before, I polish my boots, and put everything I need for the show in a pile in my room. I try to eat a good breakfast the mornings I show so I don’t fade during the day since I rarely find time to eat lunch.”

Good luck charm: “I have a necklace with all my horses’ names on it, which I keep in my pocket, and I wear a purple evil-eye bracelet.”

Most embarrassing moment: “During [Winter Equestrian Festival] 2008, I was the last to go in the medium junior jumper classic. The class leader had 8 faults in the jump-off, so when I cleared all the fences I thought that I had won the class. I glanced up at the scoreboard only to see the timers still going and then heard the crowd screaming, “you missed the finish timers.” By the time I did cross the timers, I had 4 faults for circling and a zillion time faults. Needless to say, I didn’t get the blue ribbon!”

Hardest Lesson: “My hardest lesson was a George Morris clinic with four participants: three professional riders, including my trainer, and me. It was a very hot day in Florida, there were a lot of observers. I had been warned that the lesson would be rigorous and that George Morris was intimidating. The lesson was incredibly challenging, the flat work as much as the jumping. Luckily, my jumper was perfect, but the lesson was still really hard!”