Courtney Duncan
Katherine Barclay didn’t choose the horse life. The horse life chose her. Katherine’s mother, having had ponies of her own and a love of horses, passed down this trait to Katherine who has loved horses for as long as she can remember. “It kind of runs in the family I guess,” she says. Katherine has been horseback riding for 8 years, having started riding at the age of 9. Currently Katherine is competing in a type of horseshow called IEA--Interscholastic Equestrian Association-- where a rider competes in 5 shows to accumulate points; if enough points are accumulated then the rider can compete in regionals. Katherine really enjoys shows and hopes to make it into regionals.
“Do you think you’ll stick with horseback riding, or maybe make it into a career?” I ask Katherine.
“I’m certainly going to try, I want to stick with horses hopefully as a career.”
Katherine is very interested in natural horsemanship as a training method and hopes to go into a field involving that. But beyond just the competitions and the career or the sheer joy of riding a horse, because seriously, horseback riding is crazy fun, Katherine has a genuine, undiluted, love of horses. “It’s my passion; I don’t know how to explain it. It’s something between you and the horse,” she says with a lit-up expression. Like one might love and respect a family pet, a crazy grandma, or Santa Claus, Katherine loves and respects horses. She is passionate to the core about horses. To her it’s more than a hobby, or after school activity, it’s a lifestyle that she embraces fully.
Katherine Barclay didn’t choose the horse life. The horse life chose her. Katherine’s mother, having had ponies of her own and a love of horses, passed down this trait to Katherine who has loved horses for as long as she can remember. “It kind of runs in the family I guess,” she says. Katherine has been horseback riding for 8 years, having started riding at the age of 9. Currently Katherine is competing in a type of horseshow called IEA--Interscholastic Equestrian Association-- where a rider competes in 5 shows to accumulate points; if enough points are accumulated then the rider can compete in regionals. Katherine really enjoys shows and hopes to make it into regionals.
“Do you think you’ll stick with horseback riding, or maybe make it into a career?” I ask Katherine.
“I’m certainly going to try, I want to stick with horses hopefully as a career.”
Katherine is very interested in natural horsemanship as a training method and hopes to go into a field involving that. But beyond just the competitions and the career or the sheer joy of riding a horse, because seriously, horseback riding is crazy fun, Katherine has a genuine, undiluted, love of horses. “It’s my passion; I don’t know how to explain it. It’s something between you and the horse,” she says with a lit-up expression. Like one might love and respect a family pet, a crazy grandma, or Santa Claus, Katherine loves and respects horses. She is passionate to the core about horses. To her it’s more than a hobby, or after school activity, it’s a lifestyle that she embraces fully.