Guiding a 1000-pound animal is a normal occurrence for senior Sydney Burdick.

     “I’ve broken my arm, I had a pretty big fall on my neck, I’ve been kicked before, I’ve been bitten before many times, but I would get up and keep riding,” Burdick said.

     Multiple Glenbrook North students are committed to competitive horseback riding. They spend hours at their barns training with their horses to prepare for competition.

     Senior Rachel Sigman said she started riding horses when she was 6 or 7 years old, and eventually bought her own horse, Roc Elle. She has never broken a bone, but knows horseback riding can be risky.

     “Every time you get on a horse, it’s a dangerous situation,” said Sigman. “I mean, that’s just the bottom line. Anything can happen.”

     According to Sigman, riders take precautions, such as wearing a helmet to avoid injuries, but there is still a risk each time a rider gets on his or her horse.

     Burdick said she recognizes the possibility of injury and has experienced these dangers first hand, when she broke her arm.

     “I was eight years old, I believe, and I was riding bareback, and someone by the stalls must have dropped a saddle or something because all of a sudden there was a huge crash, and my horse took off, and I wasn’t ready at all,” Burdick said.

     Despite the dangers, Burdick said the sport is worth the risks and sacrifices.

     Burdick said she started riding when she was 6 years old and has not gone a month without riding since.

     “A lot of my toughest moments have come from, not just injuries, but the frustrations and struggles of training and competing,” said Burdick. “… It’s having a bad class or event, but picking yourself up and going back in front of those same four judges that already rejected you, and competing like you’ve never lost in your life.”

     Sigman said she works on training, competing and exercising with both her own horse and other horses at the stable.

     “I go to the barn seven days a week, and I’m usually there for like three or four hours,” said Sigman. “During the week, I’m just [riding] or exercising the horses, and then I jump a couple of times a week.”

     Senior Haley Keelan said that she practices every day of the week and goes on trail rides on the weekends to relax. She believes horseback riding is a unique sport.

     “I like the idea of working with an animal and competing or showing with them,” said Keelan. “I love being able to do a sport and be an athlete while also working with animals.”

     Sigman said her riding success is based on her relationship with her horse.

     “Riding is like a really nice escape from everything … I’m focused on me, and I’m focused on the horse and how they’re listening to me and how they’re communicating with me and also how I’m going to get my job done,” said Sigman. “But part of riding is that sportsmanship between you and the animal. [You are] both the athletes.”

     Sigman competes in the A-Circuit, a national level of horse showing in which riders all across the country compete in a judged exhibition. Sigman performs at the 3-foot-6 equitation level, in which judges analyze her performance based on accuracy, form and the overall picture of her and the horse.

     “It is the most competitive, [highest] level, and it’s really fun,” said Sigman. “There’s a really nice community of girls, and I really enjoy it.”

     According to Sigman, every time a rider gets on a new horse they have to learn the horse’s different quirks.

     “The most difficult thing about being a rider is that [you are] never done learning,” said Sigman. “Riding is a sport, a lifetime sport.”