Senior Rachel Stockslager was awarded as a varsity athlete by the United States Equestrian Federation.

Stockslager has been working towards this ever since she started riding horses at eight years old. She first   started off at a horse camp and then decided to start showing horses all year round.

Stockslager started working towards this acknowledgment at the beginning of freshman year. She knew that to be rewarded as a varsity athlete she needed to ride at least 110 hours during the school year and show her horse at a minimum of five recognized shows.

Stockslager likes the learning process that goes along with riding a horse.

“There are a lot of good learning opportunities that come from it,” said Stockslager. “I learn from my mistakes but also the good experiences too.”

As long as some of her closest friends have known her, Stockslager has always been dedicated to her horse.

Senior friend Sierra Breeding admires Stockslager for being so passionate about her horseback riding.

“Rachel is very involved,” said Breeding. “It’s very honorable the dedication she puts into the horse and the art of horseback riding.”

We can all admire her work from afar, but the only person that really knows how big of a deal this honor is would be a fellow horseback rider.

Sophomore Jojo Stewart has been riding with Stockslager for a couple years now and knows exactly how hard Stockslager worked for this acknowledgment.

“She had to put in a lot of time and effort to get all four pins for the varsity program,” said Stewart. “Rachel always works very hard with the horses.”

Stockslager has been riding horses for ten years and hopes to continue with her passion in the future.

“I would like to ride in college, and having recognition from USEF looks really good on my resume,” said Stockslager. “I want it to be involved as a part of my profession in the future.”

The future looks very bright with her aspirations to continue.