54 • THE PLAID HORSE From the smile in her eyes to the everpresent kindness in her speech, Taylor Valencia of Parker, Colorado, is a horse show girl who cannot be missed. You can find her at the rings, always watching and learning from everything she possibly can, or up on one of her horses, constantly working with them to improve her riding skills. Valencia became enamored of horses at an early age. “She was caught too many times trying to climb the fences into the horse pastures that were near our house, so we decided to put her in pony school at age four,” laughs her mother, Kristine Valencia. Progressing from pony school to once a month lessons, Taylor was never satisfied. She always wanted more, and soon found herself competing in small schooling shows at a family barn. That’s when Valencia found her niche. She knew she would will herself to succeed at this sport she so loved. When Valencia finally found somewhere she could ride consistently and take jumping lessons, she began to feel a little discouraged. “All of my friends were very talented and moved up much faster than I did. I was not what you would call ‘naturally talented.’ In fact, I was far from it,” Valencia explained. However, she did not let this diminish her love of horses. Valencia made up her mind to try her hardest every single day and see where things would go. This included spending as much time at the barn as possible, leaping at every opportunity to ride an extra horse, and soaking up all information offered. Now, Valencia has progressed exponentially in her riding. She owns two horses, a big equitation mount with the name of Bigote, and her Junior Hunter, Boon. “Bigote has taught me so much and I owe a lot to him,” Valencia said. Before she bought “Bigs” as she calls him, she really had not ridden a big and powerful Warmblood before, so the change was challenging at times. With hard work, the two have now become an intimidating pair in any setting. “He’s such a willing partner which is all I could ever ask for. He’s taught me that I must be confident in my skills and I can’t be afraid to tell him what I want,” Valencia said. The pair is currently competing for a place at the ASPCA Maclay Finals and at the Dover Saddlery/US Equestrian Hunt Seat Medal Finals. While Bigote has taught Valencia the ropes in the equitation ring and taken her to the top, Taylor looked for another challenge. She found a young, green hunter by the name of Only Mischief. “Boon,” as she is more commonly known as at home,
is full of spunk and sass just like any other mare. The contrast from Bigs’ steady and sane gelding personality only made Valencia fall even more in love with her. “Boon has been so essential in furthering my riding education. She has taught me to stay focused and never stop communicating with your horse. I have to ride her every step of the course and keep her tuned in or things will go downhill,” Valencia said. With the great challenges and setbacks that come along with training a green horse, there have also been important victories for the pair. Recently, Valencia and Boon earned the Reserve Championship in the 3’3” Junior Hunters at the Colorado Spring Final Horse Show in Parker, Colorado. Now qualified for Junior Hunter Finals on her once very green horse, Valencia has learned that perseverance and patience with a young horse pay off. Becoming a top competitor presents many challenges, both mentally and physically. To master the mental aspect, Valencia has grown to become a horsewoman as well as a sportswoman. “I think that horsemanship is one of the most important parts of this sport,” she said. As she is constantly with horses, learning more about them in every aspect she can, Valencia has great respect and love for the animal. “They try so hard for us and are amazing athletes, so I feel like it is my duty to provide the best care for them and treat them like top performers,” she said. Never taking horsemanship for granted and always looking for a new opportunity to learn, Valencia takes part in every horsemanship quiz she can lay her hands on, and she often wins or achieves the top score. She especially enjoys the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge, which helped her succeed and have a great time at EAP Regionals. Horsemanship comes hand-in-hand with sportsmanship, another value that Valencia takes very seriously. “I find that good sportsmanship is essential; this sport can be very challenging at times and it really helps to encourage each other,” she said. Exemplifying both sportsmanship and horsemanship, Valencia has proven to be an excellent role model for those around her. With years of learning, growing, and experiencing, she has not only become an exceptional horsewoman, but also an extraordinary rider. Though at first, Valencia had doubts and had to work twice as hard as her barn mates to succeed, she persisted and now often sits on top of the leaderboard.
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BY MACKENZIE SHUMAN
ONE TO WATCH: TAYLOR VALENCIA
ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: TAYLOR VALENCIA ON BOON IN A USHJA NATIONAL HUNTER DERBY; ON BIGOTE IN THE US EQUESTRIAN TALENT SEARCH; AND ON BIGOTE IN THE WIHS JUMPER PHASE. RIGHT PAGE: WITH BOTH HORSES, BIGOTE AND BOON. PHOTOS © QUINTESSENCE PHOTOGRAPHY.