United States Pony Club
I have been competing horses for as long as I can remember. I graduated the United States Pony Club that I was a member of for six years. In this national organization, I learned the value of horsemanship and how to be a part of a team. Through the rating system, I learned how to study at a young age and present myself to evaluators. I competed as a team captain at numerous competitions while I was still relatively young. I learned a lot about organization, leadership, and partnership with teammates and my horse. Overall, the experiences I had with this organization taught me how to represent myself and my region on the national stage.
International Competition
I have been competing at the international level of eventing for the United States since 2015 and the national eventing level since 2012. I have enjoyed a lot of successes thanks to the amazing support I have had from my family, coaches, and some really special horses along the way. My journey is well documented at the following link.
My relationship with horse back riding is a huge part of who I am. It has led me to working for the top athletes in the sport as well as the opportunity to start my own buisness to train, groom, and teach out of. It has established my grit as a person and gave me the opportunity to discover the value of hard work, resillience, and dedication. I would not change the lessons I have learned, and continue to learn, for anythting.
Working for the sport is long hours, but there is something about the 12 hour days that I came to love. Waking up at the crack of dawn and being responsible for tens of horses is something I will always love to do. I enjoy the process of the day-to-day routine and the pay off concistency rewards. It was extremely valuable to me growing up to have to work before I was able to ride my own horse. I learned what hard work looks and feels like and what it is to have all of it come together in moments at a competion. This sport has taught me how to win humbly, lose gracefully and love every learning moment in between.
Favorite Accomplishments:
- United States Eventing Association Pony of the Year, 2012
- United States Dressage Federation Bronze Medal, 2017
- Ambassadorships with Corta-Flx, Manna Pro Horse and Tolklat Champion, 2018/19
In January of 2019, I was invited onto the Lucha Lounge Podcast to talk about my experiences as a student athlete of pretty unique sport. I discussed what my sport is and how it has impacted me as a person in common language so that anyone can learn about what my sport is really like. We had a great talk about how I have been able to balance the demands of high level competition with my school schedule and any notion of a social life! I highly encourage anyone who is interested in learning about what I do or what the sport of Eventing looks like to check it out.
Molly Sherman 