When Jodi Seitz saw pictures of her daughter Hope Barker at her first equestrian show, she could not believe it. “I saw this whole side of her that I have never seen before. She really has a special skill for riding horses,” Seitz said

Barker, a junior at Sidney High School, was recently crowned Grand Champion at the first equestrian show she has ever attended in Flagstaff, Ariz. Barker, who lives in Mesa, Ariz., with her father in the summer, has been riding horses for nine years.

“I have been riding for a while and have always wanted to compete in a show but most shows take place in the fall and spring. It was a blast,” commented Barker who competes in track and cross country for Sidney High School.

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She competed in both hunter and jumper events. “Hunter events are about looks. There is a judge who scores on both the appearances of the rider and the horse. They also judge your posture and how you control your horse. Jumper events are races when the horse jumps barriers of a certain height,” Barker stated.

In the hunter events, Barker finished wih two fifth-places and one sixth-place finish. In the jumper events, she finished with a fourth-place, a second-place and a first-place finish.

Adding to the pressure of her first show was the fact that she had only rode the horse twice before the show. “I was nervous, especially with a new horse, but everything went really well. I didn’t really know what to expect. I had an idea of what a show would be like, but when you get there it is way different,” said Barker.

Barker is not going to stop after one show. Barker plans to attend a show in Del Mar next summer.