Maggie Hill: From Wyoming
Cowgirl To Wellington Champion
By Sydney Durieux
Like many girls, Maggie Hill has been crazy about horses from an early age. But unlike many kids competing on the A-show circuit, the talented 15-year old didn’t come from an equestrian family or start showing in Lead Line or Short Stirrup at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
rides Maggie Hill Charmeur.
PHOTO BY ANNE GITTINS PHOTOGRAPHY
Hill’s career in the saddle didn’t start in Wellington, where she now lives with her parents and sister Ellie, along with rescue dogs Piper and Riley, and two cats named Hersey and Riley. It started thousands of miles away, in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in a western saddle with a paint Quarter Horse. Today Hill competes against the best junior riders in the country and has ridden to numerous victories, including the Large Junior Hunters (15 and under) Championship at the prestigious Devon Horse Show. “I started riding in Wyoming when I was 5 years old at a western barn,” recalled Hill, who attends the Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches. Jackson Hole might be an outdoorsy person’s paradise, but it is lacking when it comes to show jumping. “When I was old enough, I joined 4-H and competed at the county fair,” Hill said. “I competed in in-hand classes, western pleasure, reining competitions, even barrels
and poles. I loved riding and wanted to progress, but my mom made me wear a helmet. Everyone else wore cowboy hats, and it was embarrassing! My mom encouraged me to try English, where everyone has to wear a helmet.” So, at the age of 8, she changed disciplines, joined the Pony Club, and competed in both eventing and dressage. Her parents, Tom Hill, the founder and CEO of Summit Materials, and her mother Jane, have always been supportive of her equestrian aspirations. “In Wyoming, the horse world is very different from what you will find here in Wellington and on the circuit,” Hill said. “There is no such thing as ‘full service’ in Wyoming. You did all the work
A young Maggie Hill gets ready for a Fourth of July 4-H parade . yourself, grooming, caring for the horses, feeding them, and tacking up, which wasn’t easy because a western saddle is really heavy! There was no coddling either. If you fell off, the trainer would check to make sure you weren’t hurt and then tell us to ‘cowgirl up’ and not cry.” Winters could be brutal, and by November, the farm would be under eight feet of snow. The family decided to board the horses south of Jackson Hole and trailer to a public arena a couple times a week to ride. “You would have to use a hammer to break ice off of the handles to open the trailer door,” Hill remembered. “We’d share the ring with cowboys and rodeo folks. There were no jumps, but there were team penning cows waiting for the next arena session, and my horse hated them.” She spent a few years participating in Pony Club activities and learned about being a good horseman. “It was a blast, but it was also hard work. We would go to rallies, and we’d be on our own for the tests. No one was allowed to help us, or even talk to us, over the two days when we were being judged,” Hill said. “It wasn’t just a test of our riding; it was all about horse care and horse management. The Pony Club, of which I am still a member, has a manual which is on my book shelf here in Wellington, and I refer to it whenever I have questions.” When Hill was in fourth grade, the family purchased Randi, a Shire/Thoroughbred cross mare. wellington the magazine | august 2018
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