Competitive Equestrian Rider Grabs Victory by the Reins

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Author: Larissa Saco

Sophomore Jennifer Gaster’s dorm room is unlike those of her neighbors. Silver metal horse bits in odd shapes and sizes hang above her bed, and brown leather reins dangle over her bed post. She has acquired these trinkets over her years as a horseback rider. Gaster, unlike many other horseback riders, has continued riding competitively while at Occidental College.

When Gaster was 11 years old, she began riding once a month, but when she was 16, she was riding three times a week after her parents leased a horse.

Gaster now owns an experienced show horse named Bijou (French for “jewel”), a 12-year-old German Holsteiner Warmblood that she’s had for two years. She practices with Bijou six days a week for about six hours per day while working for a trainer at the Rancho Rio Verde Riding Club in Long Beach.

Though Gaster has been riding horses since her childhood, she began competing just two years ago. She now rides as an equitation jumper.

There are three types of riders in each class: hunter, equitation and jumper. Equitation jumpers are judged based on the overall position and form of the rider, as opposed to a hunter, who is judged on the horse’s technique, and jumpers, who are judged based on speed and height.

Although riders are only judged for eight to 10 minutes in the ring, the competitions typically last all day. Gaster is very proud to have Bijou as her companion.

“I swear horses know when they are at a show because they behave differently, and I like how my horse behaves,” Gaster said. “He goes in the ring like, ‘Look at me, I’m amazing!’ He puffs up in the ring.”

Gaster had a competition this past weekend at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, where she won two separate classes.

“[I won] the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Adult medal class and a 1.10 meter jumper class,” Gaster said. “I was also second, fourth and sixth in jumper classes.”

Though Gaster did well at Saturday’s competition, she chose to compete in less classes than she normally would have. “Usually I ride equitation, but my Los Angeles Hunter Jumper Association (LAHJA) medal finals will be in next month, so I wasn’t trying to win anything, just make sure Bijou would be calm and not spooked for finals next month,” Gaster said.

Gaster also competed in the California Professional Horsemen’s Association’s year-end finals this past August in Del Mar, a city just north of San Diego. She will be participating in the Los Angeles County Final next month as well, where she placed 10th in the three-foot fence class last year.

Levels of difficulty in jumping are determined by the rider’s chosen fence height. Gaster currently jumps three-foot six-inch fences. “Fence height all depends on what the rider is comfortable with. I am all about pushing myself because I want to go far,” Gaster said.

Although constantly improving is one of Gaster’s main goals, testing her limits comes at a high monetary price. Generally, riders have to pay for their horse to get shipped to the location, the braiding of the horse’s mane and tail, its grooming, a trainer, the entry fee for his or her respective division and a riding uniform.

Competing in a three-day horse show can easily cost over $1,000. However, Gaster owns her own equitation uniform and works for an experienced trainer, so her costs are cut down.

Although Gaster loves riding horses and considers it more of a passion than a hobby, she does not recommend the commitment to everyone: “I love riding but if it’s not something somebody loves, don’t start because it’s really time consuming and really expensive,” she said. “I love it enough that making those sacrifices is fine with me.”

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