4 minute read
Senior Zoey Jensen finds her
from December 2019
by Le Journal
The Mane Event
BY KENNEDY WADE MANAGING PRINT EDITOR
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Senior Zoey Jensen finds her passion in equestrian sports.
s she swings one of her legs over her horse’s back, senior Zoey Jensen mentally prepares herself for the first event of Windermere, a three-day competition at Longview Horse Park. She quickly runs through the sequence of specific movements she will need to execute under the careful eyes of the judges before grabbing the reins and urging her horse out into the arena.
“It’s a huge adrenaline rush,” Jensen said. “I think that’s one of the reasons I like it the most. It’s so satisfying after you’ve finished the competition.”
Jensen’s mother, Vonda Jensen, raised her daughter in the world of equestrian sports. Vonda has owned horses and has been riding her entire life. When Jensen was born, Vonda knew that she wanted her daughter to share that same passion.
“I’ve always ridden. I took a break when I got pregnant, but I kept riding after I had Zoey,” Vonda said. “As soon as she was old enough, we just set her up on a horse and let her do her thing.”
Jensen has been competitively riding horses ever since she was first introduced her to it at the age of 7. She entered her first competition when she was 8 and has been hooked since then.
“I got to know Zoey when we were both getting started with competing,” fellow rider and St. Thomas Aquinas junior Allie Burnitt said. “Zoey can be a very dedicated rider. Once she puts her mind to it, she rides really well and it shows in the ring.”
Jensen spends roughly 15 hours a week at Seven Oaks Ranch, the barn she currently practices at. She squeezes as much practice time as she can after school or on the weekends. Bad weather prevents her from practicing the outdoor portion of eventing, but she still continues to work indoor on what she can far into the winter.
“There’s consistent training throughout the year,” Vonda said. “Now that the weather is worse, we’ll focus on indoor training. If we do have a nice day, a lot of barns have practice courses set up
-Senior Zoey Jensen
we can use.”
Thomas, the horse Jensen rides now, was a surprise gift from her parents for her 15th birthday. When she first met him, he had been in the pasture for six months, completely unused to competitive riding and training regimens. She test rode him a week beforehand, and, despite not being impressed by his skills, felt a connection. Two years later, he’s the only horse she enters competitions with.
“When I first rode him, I didn’t really like him,” Jensen said. “But I went to the barn one day, and he was just in a stall for me one day, and I was really excited. Now here we are, and I really love him.”
Prepping for a competition is no easy feat, according to Jensen. Before the competition, contestants are given a complex routine of intricate movements and patterns to run through for the first day: dressage. The dressage portion of the event emphasizes technical skills, as well as the demeanor of the horse during the performance.
“You get the list way beforehand, but it’s still hard,” Jensen said. “You have to memorize all of it. It’s the only event I do in the arena, and then at the end of it, the judges give you your score. It’s really nerveracking.”
Day two of competition is cross country. Cross country involves navigating through and over obstacles in a varied terrain, meant to test the agility of the horse, according to the United States Equestrian Federation. The day of the competition, competitors are given a map of the course and allowed to walk through it.
“Cross country is my favorite part. There’s a set time to get through it all, and it’s in a massive field,” Jensen said. “People are sitting at each of the jumps that are spread out across the field to watch and report to the judges.”
The third and final day of the competition is stadium jumping, which consists of riding the horses over a course of several jumping fences.
“Stadium jumping is what you normally think of when you think about horse-back riding,” Jensen said. “It’s jumping over poles and other obstacles.”
The contestants gain penalty points throughout the event, and at the end, the pair with the lowest score wins. For her final event of the season, Jensen emerged victorious and placed third overall.
“It’s nationally ranked, and it’s the best I’ve won so far,” Jensen said. “I know I want to keep competing. I’m aiming for higher next season.”
HORSIN’ AROUND
After riding, senior Zoey Jensen rewards her horse Thomas with a treat in the stables of Seven Oaks Ranch Nov. 17.
RIDE ON (right)
Senior Zoey Jensen stops to allow her horse a short break in the outdoor arena at Seven Oaks Ranch Nov. 17.
TAKING THE REINS (far right)
Before riding, senior Zoey Jensen slips on Thomas’s bridle and reins at Seven Oaks Ranch Nov. 17.
