It’s 7 a.m. and the American flag is flowing through the gleaming sunrise. In the stables, riders are preparing their horses for the show ahead. Making sure her horse is groomed, well-fed and ready for the day, senior Sarah Muckelroy is living the true “Equestrian Lifestyle.”
Muckelroy is a member of the Woodhaven Wrangler Varsity & Rodeo Team. On Oct. 3, Muckelroy and her team performed in the introduction for the Road to the Horse tournament on the Cowboy channel. According to Muckelroy, the Cowboy Channel is “pretty big” in the horseback riding world.
“We ride our horses carrying a flag,” Muckelroy said. “We have to ride our horse with one hand, we go at a fast pace. We do certain patterns and maneuver trying to make a clear and straight line, going right behind each other, just like trick riding but [with] no jumps.”
Noting what the judges say throughout the tournament and recording scores vocalized by judges on official score sheets, Muckelroy was one of the few chosen to scribe for the Road to the Horse tournament.
“[We were there] to perform the opening show to get the crowd hyped up for what was coming and to show off what we can do for our horses,” Muckelroy said. “I was also scribing for the judge, Eric Hoffman.”
The drill team consists of eight riders and Muckelroy is just one of the many high school students who participate in horseback riding tournaments. This is Muckelroy’s seventh year participating in equestrian drill.
“Sarah has grown tremendously over the past few years,” riding coach April Evans said. “[She] always gives her team 100%.”
The team practices six to seven times a day while at the location of the competition. During those practices, the team must take care of the horse and be well-equipped. Senior Clementine Brown, a close friend, says Muckelroy “is always positive, she’s [usually] giggling or making jokes.”
As the riding season comes to a close, Muckelroy seeks to put her best foot forward for the team. Muckelroy says she would likely pursue an opportunity allowing her to be around horses in the future.
”I hope to be the best I can be for my team,” Muckelroy said. “Continuing equestrian drill after high school would be a struggle, but I’m interested in pursuing more horse knowledge-based things like hippology.”
