BY JONATHAN KANE
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cKenna Norris, a senior at Wood River High School carrying a 3.8 grade point average, vice president of the Spirit Club and a member of the Key Club, will be competing this week at the Equestrian U.S. Nationals in the Hunter Jumper discipline.
“Riding horses is my main love in life,” Norris said. “It gives you the opportunity to have an unspoken relationship with an animal as well as giving you a means of communication with that animal. That communication is the main reason that I’m so passionate about the sport.”
Norris grew up on a horse property outside of Seattle, where she started riding. Her family moved to the Wood River Valley when she was in sixth grade
Her earliest memory is when she won a pony lead-line class when she was 6 years old. There was an article about her in her local newspaper.
“It was amazing,” Norris said. “I was on cloud nine.”
A big part of Hunter Jumper competition is based on the rider’s appearance, and how the rider presents herself to the judges.
“I have recently switched my training to Santa Rosa, Calif.,” said Norris, “because there are so many more opportunities to ride and I felt I could go further in the sport.”
Norris has proved that to be true by qualifying for the Nationals for the first time, which will be held this weekend in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“They are just really hard to qualify for,” she said. “I felt I didn’t have enough shows and not enough points, but somehow the stars aligned. I’m just totally overjoyed. I never expected to go East for it after watching it on a live feed every year. It’s truly amazing.”
At the competition, the riders and horses are judged on rhythm and form as they execute eight to 13 jumps. The events are not timed.
“It’s called Hunter Jumper because it is derived from the traditional form of fox hunting,” Norris said. “What you are doing today is hunting the jumps.”
The event will be one or two rounds and there will be 300 competitors. Norris feels her strength as a top competitor comes “from my thought process toward the sport. It’s how I prepare before I go in that really counts. Then I have to remember to always breathe and walk into the arena with confidence and then it’s just getting that first jump in.”
The process of jumping only takes a few minutes.
“But the Nationals will be a whole new world for me and nerves will be at an all-time high,” Norris said. “But what I really can’t get my head around is who I’ll be competing against. These girls are all my idols from back East and my inspiration. It’s hard to believe I’ll be going up against them.”
Editor’s Note: Anyone who would like to recommend a Blaine County School District student for The Weekly Sun’s “Student Spotlight” feature should contact Jonathan Kane at jkjonkane@gmail.com.