Age: 17.

Hometown: Chelsea, Michigan.

Education: II will be graduating this year with honors from Chelsea High School.  In the fall I will be attending the University of South Carolina, studying engineering and riding on the equestrian team.

How I got involved with horses: My mom always said that before I could stand, I loved anything that had to do with horses.  Weather it was the penny pony at the store, stuffed animals or my favorite movie Sprit. My love for horses came from a long line of horse crazy family members, from my mom who showed her entire youth career and a few years as an Amateur, my grandmother and my great grandparents used to breed and show horses for many years with a farm in Michigan and Arizona.

Trainers: Beckey Schooler (2010-2017); Chad Piper (2017-2019); Brent Tichner (2019-present).

Current show partner: I am showing Im Too Sleepy, a 2011 bay gelding by Too Sleepy To Zip out of Im Cierra Sistable, in Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, Horsemanship, Showmanship, Halter and Western Riding.

Biggest prize: I won the NSBA Hunter Under Saddle Non-Pro Limited Maturity in 2016 and was a two-time Reserve Congress Champion in Hunter Under Saddle. This past year I rode on the Ohio Quarter Horse Association’s NYATT team that ended up as team Champions and I was year-end Reserve Youth High Point for OQHA.

Biggest accomplishments outside the show pen: I received my Academic letter and Athletic letter for Track and Field during my freshman year. I also won the Congressional App Challenge for the State of Michigan and had the opportunity to meet Tim Wahlberg. We had to create an app that solved a problem.  My group made a party planning app and won the challenge, this was such a surprise as we were thinking we wouldn’t even place.

My motivation: I honestly don’t know what I would do without showing. I can’t think of anything that makes me happier than to be at a show, even when it is necessary to wait hours to go into a class. My horse is my happy place, so just being around him helps me calm down and destress. He is such a large part of my life and without him, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve half of what I have today.

My Hero: My mom, Susan. She drives me all over this country and even though she is only 5 feet tall, she drives our motorhome better than anyone I know. She is always right there with me to record a pattern, clean my boots or even just cheer me up when I have a bad go. She drives through the night to get home so I can make it to school the next day or attend an event for my brother.  There are times we leave a horse show and drive directly to an activity for my brother so she can attend both of our events as she knows how much it means to us.  She also makes sure I am always ready, show clothes are clean and we can turn around and leave for another show.