By Theresa O’Connor
How many people do you know who do horseback riding outside of school as a sport? Not only does Tempe Prep 7th grader Brenna Foreman ride horses as an activity outside of school but she owns her own horse too!
January 10, last year, was the first time Brenna had ever ridden a horse professionally. She decided to start riding horses because she has always loved horses and she had the chance to take lessons, so she gladly accepted the opportunity.
From then on, Brenna has been improving her skills, learning about horses, and riding them. After taking many lessons, her instructor said Brenna could own a horse if she could cooperate well with the horse. The horse was named Leela.
At the same time, Brenna was actually moving to a house which conveniently had a stable. When Leela first moved in, she had a difficult time adjusting but soon Brenna and Leela became best friends.
“The thing I enjoy most is that my horse and I are a mini team, and we go through a lot of ups and downs but in the end I always have a best friend,” she said.
Recently, Brenna had an English jumping competition. She felt so nervous but happy at the same time. Brenna did not go there to win but to get the experience being in a competition and to learn from her mistakes.
One of the events she did was jumping, which she scored first place in. Although she scored several second places, Brenna really only wanted to ride for pleasure. Her most exciting moment was jumping in the competition. But her biggest fear was being so badly injured that she could never ride again.
“An interesting fact is most people think a horse bucks you off just because it doesn’t like you or doesn’t do what’s it is told,” she said. “That is usually not the case. You often communicate wrong with your horse which causes it confusion. It will not do what you ask it to do because the horse does not know what you are asking. Then when you discipline the horse, the horse would get really confused and annoyed,” she said.
If anyone is looking for a new activity, horseback riding may be the right sport for you!