MEET THE JUNIOR

Hi! My name is Kayla Lewis and I am a junior rider, new to the sport of endurance riding. My mom, Samantha, started riding in this sport a couple of years ago and the more I watched her and attended her rides, the more I wanted to do this too.

At first, we had two horses on the farm, Sparkle and Gaiety. My mom would ride Sparkle and I would ride Gaiety on conditioning rides until one day Gaiety was being a little stinker and we switched horses. I help my mom condition the horses because since my dad died, she really has her hands full and I like to help her. My mom is a great role model to me for a lot of reasons and spending time riding together is a lot of fun. My sister, Morgan, rides also but she doesn't compete in endurance.

My horse's name is GMF Le Saber and we call him Saber for short. Saber is a 9-year-old purebred Arabian gelding that my mom bought for me to start endurance riding and taking lessons on. My sister and I take riding lessons twice a week to gain a better feel and balanced seat. I like Saber and he is fun to ride but he is more of a follower than a leader. Sometimes my mom sends me in front to work on self-confidence and pacing, for both Saber and me.

My first ride was the Tidioute ride in Pennsylvania. We had been planning for a while on what would be my first ride. Finally, after much debate in the house, we decided on this ride. Mom was a little nervous because it was a first-time ride but said what the heck and went anyway. We planned to ride the 25-mile limited distance ride on Saturday with me aboard Saber and Mom riding Lexi, her Anglo-Arab mare.

We arrived at the ride site and set up camp, getting the horses situated and settled in. The night before the ride I was really nervous and I think my mom must have asked me a hundred times if I was sure about this and I kept saying, "Yes!" I waited a long time to do this and I was going to do it one way or another.

The morning of the ride we tacked the horses and headed down to the start area to check in, which was about a mile away. The start was quiet but things quickly changed as we headed out on the first loop which was 15 miles. The front runners on the 50-mile ride were coming back in when the 25-milers were going out on the common trail. It was Lexi's first ride and she was getting a little upset because she could not figure out why horses were passing us in both directions so she kicked out in frustration and I got kicked on the shin bone. We stopped and my mom wanted to take me back to camp and pull rider-option but I wanted to finish.

Mom would not take my half-chap off because she was afraid it would not go back on and, with the inevitable swelling that was to come, that was a good idea. We finished out the first loop, walking a lot for me because of my leg. During the vet check, a nurse friend of ours set me down with a cool wash cloth behind my neck and my leg up on a bucket to rest. Mom got both horses through the vet check just fine and we were cleared to go back out.

We had two hours to finish the ride. The final 10-mile loop was technical with lots of rocks and deep mud. We made time when we could but still walked a lot, mainly up hills, and cantering when possible on the downhill and flat areas. As we came into camp with 13 minutes to spare, I started to cry -- which made my mom cry -- because I wanted my dad to be at the finish line to see me. (My dad is David Lewis who was killed on January 2 in the Sago Mine accident.) Both horses received their completions with great vet scores all day. Saber had a resting heart rate of 38 at the finish. The vet made a joke about him being awake during the trot-out.

Endurance is a fun sport and I am looking forward to riding in the future. I know my dad is watching down from Heaven and is proud of me and will always be with me whatever I do. I plan to do a few more 25-mile rides, then a 50 this fall. I know I can do it because my parents have given me the self-confidence that I can do anything in this world if I set my mind to it and see it through.

P.S. An update from Samantha, Kayla's mom: "Kayla's leg was swollen approximately twice its size, and was severely bruised for more than four weeks from below the knee to the ankle. She still has a horseshoe mark to this day."

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