COCOA, Fla. — Some people think that kids ride horses just for fun, but Equestrian riders train to show their horses all over the U.S. It takes a lot of training and preparation to get ready for a show. This is not a sport that many compete in Brevard County, but it is becoming increasingly popular. Many young athletes compete in Equestrian throughout the U.S. with different breeds of horses.

Mia Pedrick, 15, is a student at Brevard Virtual. Her love for riding horses began when she was 10 years old as her younger sister, Ava began taking lessons. Mia had the opportunity to take lessons as well and was hooked right away.

Training horses is not something one can do without a coach. Mia’s coach is Avery Sinclair, the owner of Sinclair Performance Horses in Cocoa, FL. She is very special to her and has taught her about the technical side of riding horses. Mia says, “She is a great motivator. I’ve trained with her for a little over a year now and I think I have improved a lot because my personality and work ethic work really well with the way she coaches.” Mia spends about an hour a day, 3 – 4 days a week riding and sometimes on the weekends. She loves riding so much that when she can, she stays after her lesson to ride some of the trainer’s horses as she can’t get enough! At these trainings, they work on technique and fine tune each skill. This allows Mia to be prepared for everything she will be expected to do at the show.

There are a few local places where those who want to ride and show horses can train and Mia is lucky to go to one of those close by. However, when it is time for shows, she and her family, and one of her horses, travel out of town. She has competed in shows throughout Florida in areas such as New Smyrna, Clarcona, and Tampa. Last year, she traveled to 10 shows and out of state to South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma. This year they are planning on more shows and going to Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and hopefully the Carolinas again.

Some sports require the athlete to show up with the equipment, warm-up and stretch and be ready to go at game time. Not in Equestrian. The athlete arrives a day or two early with show clothes and grooming supplies for the horse. This gives the horse the time to get acclimated to the area. “If a show starts at 8:00 a.m., Mia will be there 1 ½ to 2 hours prior to the show. She has to lunge her horse, clean the horse if needed, clean stalls, get into show attire, and do makeup and hair” says her dad, Charles. He says that some of these shows are like beauty pageants on horses. The shows with greater numbers have early mornings and late nights but she wouldn’t trade it for the world because she loves it.

Mia loves competing and she does this in the classes of: Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, and Trail. She says, “The best part of riding and showing is seeing my improvement. When you struggle with one event, then have a very good ride in the next class and win the class, it can feel really good. Also, the paint horses I have been blessed to show are so incredibly talented, so it is really fun to go show on them.”

She has a few horses she likes to ride but only takes one to a show. The one she likes is Heza Pepperjack, aka Pepper, owned by Sara Torres. Mia showed him throughout 2020 and they accomplished a lot together, so he is very special to her. The other horse she is very fond of she is showing this year. His name is “I Got The Sensation” aka “Joker” and is owned by Eileen Parente.

The family will be traveling to some big shows this summer. Mia is currently training for the Pinto World Show in June and Paint Congress in July. Additionally, she is going to some bigger shows in Indiana and Texas so that she can accumulate more points. Her goal is to be as high up on the top 20 list as possible and have really good showings at events throughout the year. The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) gives the top 20 riders with the highest points in each division buckles at the end of the year, so she is hoping to get enough points to move up on this list.

Mia had a great show year in 2020 with some #1 placing’s in her age group (see side box)

In 2020, she went to the Pinto World Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Pepper. There they won two Pinto World Championships and one Reserve World Championship. This was the first World Championship win for both her and Pepper.

Mia’s favorite subject in school is math and her goal is to go to a Division 1 college and ride on an Equestrian team. Her top 3 choices are Texas A&M, TCU (Texas Christian University) and University of Georgia at this point. After college, Mia plans to stay involved in the horse industry and continue to show as long as possible, eventually becoming a show judge one day. When she isn’t riding, she enjoys traveling and skateboarding.

She hopes that more kids decide to be an Equestrian because it is such a great sport. The love between a child and a horse is priceless. We wish Mia the best of luck in Equestrian riding and chasing her goals!

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