Judea Duke has been a student of mine for 7 years now! And before she goes on to do bigger and better things, I thought I would highlight her achievements this month.
Judea has always had a beautiful equitation seat, even at 12 years old she knew how to walk into the arena and show to the judge! Her parents initially hired me to work with their younger show horses while she finished showing her seasoned show Paint, however her finished horse soon came up with some physical complications. Since I’ve known her, Judea has had to struggle between soundness issues with her Paint horses and riding strong, green horses at a young age. But she has always risen to the challenge, overcoming fear and staying patient in training her feisty young Paints.
As she got older she realized she wasn’t quite done showing before she got serious with college, but needed something in a lower price range. So I convinced her to start showing POAs and here is where she really blossomed! Starting from a student who was scared to run faster than a canter or jump higher than a crossrail, Judea suddenly became the girl who felt confident to push her pony home from the barrels as fast as she could, and to push her to a jumping height of 2’6”!! Even though it was an inexperienced POA, Judea was able to achieve so many more obstacles this year on her pony Ali than she has in years past. I am so proud of you Judea, for trying new things and becoming a more versatile rider! I’m glad you are enjoying your new projects and wish you the best of luck as you continue working toward your career goals!
