Chloe Crowell

A Journey in Equine Sports Born To Ride

In most sports, conditioning is done to get an athlete’s body ready for the season. While some people do not expect horseback riding to be a sport, sophomore Chloe Crowell say it is actually a very time consuming, labor intensive activity. For Crowell, she has to condition both her and her horses for a year-round horse show season.

“We have to put in just as much work as other people, if not more,” Crowell said. “We are at the stables every single day of every week working with our horses to get them ready for show season.”

Her love of horse riding first started when she was very young. From the age of six months, Crowell rode her first horse with her grandmother. Her grandma is a very important person in her riding journey. She is the one who fed Crowell’s passion for equine sports.

“It’s just me and my grandma who got into it,” Crowell said. “Not a lot of my other family have really gotten into it. She was actually the person that I bought my horse Husker from. When she comes to Nebraska, we go on a ride together. She likes riding Husker, because he is her little baby.”

Mostly in the summer, Crowell goes to ride and train her horses everyday. They work on riding in both English and Western styles, halter training, and other ground rules. For horse shows, she does everything she can. From English and Western pleasure events, to speed events, she does it all. Crowell only goes to the 4-H equine shows at the Sarpy County Fair, the Nebraska State Fair and open events in Lincoln.

“In 2016, I brought Husker along and he won Walk-Trot Grand Champion, and Grand Champion in the trail class,” Crowell said. “I won with my other horses at the state fair. He got sixth place in Showmanship. This was big for us because this was the first time in a really big show. We also got ninth place in the two year old Western Pleasure. This was a big deal to me, because I have been working with him so hard.”

Even though she really enjoys her time at the stables,

riding horses is not always an easy feat. While a trusting horse is easy to control, they still have a mind of their own, so incidents can occur.

“George and I were in the back arena at the 4-H horse show when he got spooked at something, and he started to act like a rodeo horse,” Crowell said. “He kicked me off and I hit my back right into the fence. I couldn’t walk so they had to bring a golf cart to me, and we went to the urgent care in Gretna. Even though it was scary at the time, I got back to riding a week later.”

Injuries are something that will not hold Crowell back; horseback riding is something she will enjoy forever. While practices may be long and difficult, the process of training her horse is very rewarding.

“Riding is something I’m super passionate about,” Crowell said. “I kinda see my horses as my best friends. I feel like I can always rely on my horse, and it’s super fun for me to work on something, and then go compete and show people my work. I think it’s really rewarding, and I like to watch the process.”

Chloe’s grandma congradulates her on her Walk-Trot Crand Chanpion win and gives her adivce for next event. Chloe ended up winning Trail Class as well.