“I started liking horses when I was 5 years old because my mom bought me a toy horse,” said senior Lauren Livengood.

Some young equestrians began to take interest in their early childhood years. For Livengood, her passion sprouted at age 5 and took root at age 7. Livengood said, “I loved it right away.”

Close and long time friend of Livengood, senior Lizzie Guilford said, “I remember her wearing shirts with horses on them almost everyday in elementary school. I think she had one for everyday of the week.”

Livengood has been riding horses for eleven years now but has decided not to compete. She leases the horses once a month at Clermont Equestrian in Woodside. Their motto says “We believe in the pursuit of happiness at a full gallop. We believe in fulfilling every kid’s dream of having a pony, if only for an hour or so.”  Livengood goes to ride her horse two to three times a week for a total of nine hours at most.

Her favorite aspect of the equestrian life is the different personalities the horses have. The horse that she currently rides is a boy named Eustace. She has been riding him for the past two years. “He’s really funny. He makes a lot of facial expressions with tilts his neck. Sometimes I miss my old horses but not really,” said Livengood.

One of Livengood’s most memorable moments with Eustace has been letting him loose in the arena and watching him follow her around. Livengood said, “It was cute to see him follow me. Other fun moments are when I’ve fallen off. It’s happened a lot.”

For most teens getting involved in outside extra curricular activities is a great way to make new friends. Livengood has attested to this claim. She said, “I’ve made a lot of friends. Most are adults though, but one just moved away to college.”

As Livengood heads toward the end of her senior year, she must also consider whether or not to continue horse back riding.

“It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to Eustace, but I’ve been looking for barns near or around the colleges I’m most interested in.”