When sixth grader Violet Moczydlowsky was 7, she first expressed her desire to be around horses to her parents. Four years later, she is still riding and a member of Archer’s newly established Interscholastic Equestrian Association program.
IEA is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide access to riding and competing for those who do not own a horse. Riders can join a team affiliated with their school or become part of a barn-based team to participate in IEA competitions. At Archer, along with many schools and barns across the country, students ride and train together, as well as compete as a team. Archer’s IEA season ran from September to November.
Moczydlowsky said she joined IEA because of her love of horses and to take her riding to the next level. She spends most of her weekends at the barn and views horseback riding as a therapeutic experience.
“[My favorite part] is not having to worry about what I’m doing,” Moczydlowsky said. “It makes me feel calm.”
At IEA practice, Moczydlowsky’s passion for riding enhances the teams enjoyment, team member Adaline Butler (‘30) said. Moczydlowsky brings a caring, joyful attitude to the barn, Butler said, and is a shoulder to lean on for her teammates.
“She’s always really sweet and kind, and she’s very helpful,” Butler said. “She makes [practice] fun.”
Sharing a common interest with the team has helped them bond, Butler said. Knowing that everyone there is passionate about horseback riding helps them bring the energy the team requires to succeed. She said Moczydlowsky brings a lot of team spirit to practice and is always willing to help.
Team members traveled off campus during the school day to train together at Will Rogers Stables. Brandi Montague, Moczydlowsky’s mother, said the program was a positive experience.
“I think the coolest part of that program is being able to go off campus during the school day to the gorgeous farm and be able to ride horses,” Montague said. “Violet is very joyful around the horses. She’s very calm. She’s in command.”
She said it was also a great opportunity to build confidence and adaptability.
“In an IEA competition, you don’t know which horse you’ll be riding, so you show up, they pick a horse’s name out of a hat, and that’s the horse you’ll be riding that day,” Montague said. “So really being able to practice adapting to your horse and situations, and thinking on your feet.”
Montague said IEA gave Moczydlowsky a new perspective on riding because she is working with a different horse each time. She said she has learned to ride horses with varying personalities and quirks.
“Just having the opportunity to be able to ride horses [and] having the opportunity to get better at something, it’s really fun,” Moczydlowsky said. “I feel like I could get really good.”
Moczydlowsky said IEA has improved her sixth grade experience. Being a new student makes it hard to get to know everyone, she said, so seeing a teammate in the halls is nice. She also said knowing that other people in the school share your love of something is comforting.
“We’ve also met [new people] through the IEA team because it started so early in the year,” Butler said. “I feel like it’s also something we can bond about: our love for horses.”
Horseback riding is often overlooked as a sport, and some do not consider it a sport at all, Moczydlowsky said. People often ask her what sports she plays, and when she responds with equestrian, they say, “That’s not a real sport, what actual sports do you play?”
“I feel like they just don’t understand. People think it’s so easy to ride a horse. It’s not,” Moczydlowsky said. “ But I feel like they just haven’t done it, so they don’t have any experience. [You’ve] got to try it and then figure out that it’s really hard.”