Freshman Sarah Bowerman competed at regionals in Ingham County as the only St. Louis High School Equestrian member, Sunday, Sept. 28.
Though Bowerman competes alone in a team sport, she has done a remarkable job representing St.Louis High School. She expressed, “I enjoy the equestrian team for many reasons. It’s a really nice community, and it is so rewarding to be in a sport that represents your hard work. You get to know a lot of people in the area and get to see different skill levels from different schools, and I think that’s really cool.”
Equestrian is a sport with many different events for horseback riding. In Equestrian, riders get judged against others to get points. The horse shows usually last three days, and at the end of the three days total points are revealed. First place gets eight points, second place gets seven points, and so on.
Bowerman grew up around horses and began riding when she was only nine years old. Her improvements over the years have shown at her district competition, where she placed second, and her regional competition, where she placed fourth, only seven points away from making the states as a freshman. She also became the MIHA District D Reserve Champion. At regionals, Bowerman competed on her horses Sevi and Sassy. She says, “Getting to know your horses and having a connection with them is important. Knowing how they will react in certain situations and environments helps you and your horse.”
There is not just one person who runs the St. Louis Equestrian program, but Glenda Bowerman is the head coach for the team, along with Bethany Bowerman being the co-coach. In the fall, Bowerman also balances horse shows with cross country.
“I think other people should join the Equestrian team. It would be great and give the sport more opportunities, since it is really hard to compete as a one-person team. I think once people give it a try, they will find they actually really love it,” she stated.
Bowerman is overall doing an amazing job representing St. Louis Equestrian, and would love for others to give it a try as well.
