n the now
“One night I snuck out of my room and found out which bottle had the horseback riding on it. I would make sure that every other day I would put most of my M&Ms in it. That’s how I got my start.” With riding as the winner, Danika started lessons at a local barn of Quarter Horses and Paints. “Out of the blue Mom said ‘let’s put Danika on Presto’, and the rest was history.” From there, the two became involved in 4-H, and when she was 13 Presto moved to an Arabian show barn. A second Arabian joined the family in 2013. Duke, officially named Decyned For Gold++/ (Out Of Cyte x KM Chanel), a 2006 gelding, has been Danika’s Sport Horse star. The two are in a lesson program twice a week, and Danika tries to ride at least three to five times a week total; a busy schedule for someone who also works at her parent’s business twice a week and has many volunteer and service activities. In addition to membership in the Future Business Leaders of America and Girls Honors Club, Danika has been an active member of Key Club, an international community service and leadership organization for high school students, through which she has volunteered more than 200 hours in her community. She has served as vice president of her local club and received numerous awards for her service. She won the PNW Oratorical Contest at the the Key Club District Convention where she presented her speech before 1,200 members. It was also through Key Club that she traveled to Agra, India to build homes for sloth bears retired from the circus and rescued elephants on whom she honed her bathing skills while learning about conservation efforts in India. arabian horse
life
Issue 3. 2018
Top — At age 6, Danika helped in the family business of showing dogs.
Middle & bottom — Danika (shown here at age 13) has competed in a variety of disciplines, including Western and Dressage, aboard Presto, or ERA Prestodin.
At home, she made blankets for children in the Seattle Cancer Hospital and led fundraising drives for UNICEF and to eliminate maternal and neo-natal tetanus in babies. “My community is very important to me, and I try to show that through my support of local businesses and activities,” she said. As a Microsoft Student Ambassador, she taught coding twice a week to elementary school kids and was honored with the Microsoft in Education Award of Excellence. From her high school, she has been recognized for her excellence in French by the Alliance Francaise de Seattle, reflective of her high level academic accomplishments. She also helped start a STEM club in her school, which led to monthly seminars on technology. Her equestrian endeavors brought her awards in her 4-H days. She lettered through the USEF high school lettering program, and from AHA garnered the Rider of Supreme Honor Champions award, and a Legion of Merit and Legion of Supreme Honor with Duke. Scholarship money, based on her school record, has come from the Pacific Rim Arabian Horse Association and the Arabian Horse Foundation. While delighted to receive these accolades, Danika remains humble. “I am honored to receive these awards, but my greatest honor is seeing smiles on the faces of those I’ve served or shared my passions with.” “We’re very proud of her,” says her mother. “She’s so passionate. She sets goals for herself and does her best to meet them, even to exceed them. She’s always been pretty selfconfident. Since her dad and I showed dogs for a number of years, we were always around