Local Champion Payson girl winning national horse-riding events When Enaya Carroll was 5 years old, her older brother Adriel wanted to go horseback riding. Enaya went along. That fateful day led the now 12-yearold Payson girl to a love of competitive riding and a skill that has her winning national competitions. In 2020, she became the youngest person ever to win the U.S. Arabian Sport Horse Nationals competition, taking home a $3,000 prize. In 2021, she returned to the competition — and won again. This was especially impressive considering the competition has no youth category. Enaya competed against adult professional riders. She’s also won or placed in the top 10 at other national competitions, including the United States Hunter Jumper Association National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I am so proud of her. I have seen her lose with grace and I have also seen her win with grace,” said Enaya’s mother Tahira Carroll. “I’ve also seen a shy little girl blossom into a very articulate young lady, and I think all of that is the confidence she got from horses.” A seventh-grader and straight-A student at Valley View Middle School,
38
Shown from left to right are Enaya Carroll and her parents, Fernando and Tahira Carroll, of Payson.
Enaya started taking horse-riding lessons while living in Provo. Five years ago, the family purchased its first Arabian horse. Living in the city meant having to board their horse elsewhere, which was expensive and inconvenient. Her parents Tahira and Fernando Carroll had talked about moving onto a farm someday where they could raise their two children. Four years ago, they found a farm property in Payson and decided to do it. “It was a good life for the kids, I thought. It’s been a really good decision,” Tahira said. The Carrolls now own five horses that all live at their property, which the family refers to as Fate Barn. Enaya trains with Kate Healey at Valley View Equestrian in Payson and with Isaac Taylor at Taylor Ranch Arabians, also in Payson. Her favorite sport to compete in is show jumping, where she and her horse have to clear obstacles up to 3 feet high. She also competes in dressage, where horse and rider are judged as they complete a required series of
PAYSON SANTAQUIN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | www.paysonsantaquinarea.com
movements. Both show jumping and dressage are Olympic sports. Enaya also competes in Mounted Native Costume, a sport where the rider and horse dress in an Arabian costume. The horses must move in specific ways while always under complete control of their rider. “You have to make them look like they’re floating, like they’re running in a desert,” Enaya said. All three of these sports are considered English forms of riding, which, as a Utah resident, sets Enaya apart. Most riders in Utah are involved in Western-style riding such as that featured in rodeos. While Enaya has competed in Western riding, even making the top 10 in 4-H state competition, she prefers the English styles and the different challenges they offer. For example, each show jumping competition features a unique course that must be navigated. “I like trying new things a lot. I like pushing myself a lot,” Enaya said. “We joke that she’s very intense,” Tahira said, adding that both Enaya and her horse visibly get into the “zone”
