Two Teens Taking Young Riders By Storm

North American Young Junior Rider Championships; a goal most jumpers work towards, the road long and hard, has been no match for two junior riders out of Harley Brown Equestrian Center located in Woodside, CA.

Alex Volpi and Emma Katherine Reichow have already had numerous placings and great rounds in the young rider trails at Hits Coachella alone and are on the road to many more successes. All things Equine was given the great opportunity to interview these two girls and get to them and their horses a little better.

1. How long have you been riding for? What was your beginning in ridding like?

Alex: I started riding when I was about 11 (so around 5 years ago). I just rode a lesson horse for a few months, but then leased out a little pony named Penguin Party who I did hunters and eq with.

Emma: I have been riding for about 6 years. When I was about 7 I went on my first trail ride and instantly fell in love with horses. I begged my mom to let me ride and after about a year she finally found a barn and I have been in love ever since! I started at a barn mainly for beginners and stayed there for about 2 years. After that barn I moved to a slightly more advanced barn but I ended up falling off one of the horses and broke my arm. When I was healing, my trainer told me that if I ever wanted to improve I needed to switch barns. She set me up with the trainers I have now!

2. How many horses do you have?

Alex: I currently own four horses:

* Dorelliaz (Dora) - this is my gray mare, I think she's 8 or 9 this year, we bought her when she was 7 but she got injured and had been out for around a year but is rehabbing now.

* Agrippa (Grips) - this is my bay gelding, he should be 12 this year; I bought him 2 years ago to move up on but now he is just doing 1.20/30. A funny thing about grips is that he's like super A.D.D.

* Holiday - this is my bay stallion, he's 10. I bought him earlier this year. A funny thing about him is, at home, he likes to whinney at horses when we walk to the ring and he gets super excited when someone replies to him.

* La Corunja - this is the bay mare we just bought like last week, she's a 9 year old and we plan to use her as my Grand Prix horse

Emma: I have 6 horses. The first horse I bought was named Spotify and he is an 11 year old pinto Dutch Warmblood. I showed him in the eq and he took me from jumping 2ft to 3’6ft. I have owned him for 3 years but last fall a girl at my barn started leasing him!

My second horse is named Apex. He is a 13 year old bay Anglo European. I bought him about 2 and a half years ago to be my junior jumper but when we bought him we realized that I was not ready to handle him so my trainer has been showing him in all of the big grand prixs ever since! Right now I have 3 junior jumpers Cro, Cubiki and Uleika.

I bought Cro and Uleika a little over a year ago and just recently purchased Cubiki in October of last year. I show Cro and Cubiki in the 1.30-1.45 junior jumpers. Cro is a 10 year old grey holsteiner gelding, Cubiki is an 8 year old bay holsteiner stallion and Uleika is a 9 year old bay mare. My last horse is named Chico and I bought him last summer. I show him in all of the big eq and he is a 12 year old chestnut gelding.

3. What's it like riding a stallion?

Alex: Riding a stallion is fine (most of the time). Holiday doesn't really act up while you're riding him other than the occasional wildness, which I think happens to all horses. The thing that's tricky with Holiday is walking around because he gets very ~excited~ around other horses, and it's harder for me to control him on the ground.

Emma: I personally love riding a stallion! They can be difficult sometimes and you have to be careful when there are other horses around but they are so powerful and so much fun to ride! It is a little difficult because I have to be aware of when I am petting or jogging him so that he does not bite me but in the end it is worth it!

4. What barn do you ride at and who's your trainer?

Alex: I ride at Harley Brown; he and Olivia both train as well as our to assistant trainers Lauren and Amanda.

Emma: I ride at Harley Brown Equestrian in Northern California and I am mostly trained by Harley and Olivia Brown. However, I am also trained by the two assistant trainers at the barn, Lauren Shepherd and Amanda Styskal.

5. How do you and your trainer prepare for shows and big classes?

Alex: I just recently moved to Harley's barn and the only show I've gone to with them is thermal, so I'm not quite sure what's the norm. But, currently we've been working a lot on fundamentals because once you have that down, jumping big is a lot easier.

Emma: The morning of a big class, I come in the morning to hack my horse to make sure they are not stiff or have too much energy so that when I walk into the show ring they do not spook or are too strong. My trainers usually set up poles on the ground and have me work on adding and leaving out strides between each pole. At home before a horse show, my trainer sets up difficult courses and we work a lot on collecting and leaving out strides between fences to prepare for any difficulties on course at a show.

6. What are you goals for this show season?

Alex: This show season I'm hoping to make it on the zone 10 NAJYRC team, as well as start going in some lower grand prixs.

Emma: My goals for the show season are to qualify for all of the big eq finals, compete at NAJYRC this year and compete in U25 grand prixs. Eventually I hope to represent the United States in the Olympics, Nations Cup, World Cup finals and other major grand prixs!

7. What are some of your favorite brands in and out of the show ring?

Alex: For the show ring, I love my Tucci boots, and Samshield. Other than those two things my outfit kind of varies based on what I have that's clean. For my hunt coat I either wear an Animo or Charles Ancona.

Emma: My favorite riding brands in the show ring are definitely Equiline, Animo, Samshield, Parlanti and Charles Ancona. At home I love my Kastel and EIS riding shirts, lululemon jackets and Cavaleria Toscana breeches.

8. What is the most important part of riding, and what is your favorite part of riding?

Alex: I think the most important part of riding is the relationship you have with your horse. That is what makes riding so unique, so I think it plays a very significant role. My favorite part of riding would probably be having good rounds. That's the best feeling because after working so hard you finally get to go in and try your best and it's always fun and gratifying.

Emma: To me the most important part of riding is learning from your mistakes and staying positive. There is so many ups in downs in this sport and it is very important that you do not let the downs discourage you. There is always another day and you have to be able to brush aside the bad rounds and focus on improving. My favorite part of riding is getting to spend time with my friends while doing the sport that I love.

9. What is your biggest accomplishment in your riding career so far?

Alex: I don't really have one big accomplishment in my career. Last year, I got the chance to ride this little bay mare (Felippa N/Pip) around the mod juniors and we ended up winning like 3 classics at different shows as well as making it on the sac international 1.20 team which was really cool.

Emma: My biggest accomplishment in my riding career so far would either be winning the NorCal 12-14 Equitation Classic and the USHJA 12-14 Equitation Championship or getting second in the 1.45m Junior/AO Jumper Classic at HITS Coachella.

10. What is one memory you want to live over and over again?

Alex: If I was going to relive one memory it would probably be winning the MCHS 1.20 classic on Pip because it had always been a show I really wanted to ride at but never got the chance to, so that was a really awesome moment for me.

Emma: One memory I wish I could live over and over again is jumping in my first grand prix last year!