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04/19/2018 12:00 AMKennedy Teasdale made up her mind pretty quickly when it came to becoming a horseback rider. Kennedy has been participating in the sport since the age of six, and she’s achieved a high standard of excellence in equestrian throughout the subsequent years.
Kennedy, a Guilford resident and 6th-grade student at Baldwin Middle School, first took up an interest in horse riding when she was in kindergarten. Her parents, Bill and Cara, followed up by building a mock course in their backyard with sticks and plastic pipes. After grooming a local horse, Kennedy’s parents permitted her to start taking lessons at Movado Farms in Durham, where she is now a part of its equestrian team.
Kennedy has since become one of the team’s most decorated horseback riders with her horse Lots of Dots, or as she calls her, “Holly.” This year, in her first season with the Movado Farms team in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Kennedy won the regional finals in both the Novice Fences and Flat divisions. She then captured the New England Zone finals title in the Flat Division to qualify for the IEA Nationals in Syracuse, New York from Thursday, April 19 through Sunday, April 22. Kennedy has also qualified for 2018 Connecticut Hunter-Jumper Association finals and Fairfield-Westchester Professional Horseman’s Association (PHA) finals in both the Equitation Medal and Hunter Pony divisions.
“In kindergarten at Melissa Jones School, I did a presentation about wanting to be a rider. My parents asked the Wettemann family in North Guilford if I could see their horses, and they let me groom their horse Chuck and walk around the farm, and I just loved it and became obsessed with getting to ride,” Kennedy says. “My parents finally agreed that I could take lessons. I think because my parents saw I was passionate about my riding, they finally agreed to getting me the horse I own now. Holly is a total character and can be no-nonsense and keeps me honest. There are no short cuts with Holly, and she is the best teammate I could ever ask for.”
Kennedy’s fascination with horseback riding has been fostered by wide a variety of people and experiences. Kennedy has been inspired by family members, attending local festivals, and even a babysitter with her own impressive athletic résumé.
“I remember going to the Guilford Fair every year, and I used to beg to go on the pony rides there. My babysitter at the time [Kara Fikrig of Guilford] was the captain of the Yale polo team and my parents would take me to matches, and I always thought she was so cool,” says Kennedy. “My mom rode in college, and my dad told me that he used to go to all my mom’s horse shows in college, so that was a big influence for me, too. I’m also lucky to have an aunt who has a horse farm in Jupiter, Florida, and that’s been an influence and a dream of mine to have a place like that.”
Kennedy expresses great gratitude to her instructors—Tricia Carlton, Louisa Fedora, and Bobby Blumenthal—for helping her see so much success on the equestrian circuit. There a lot of variables that come into play during Kennedy’s competitions, including who her partner will be, and so it means the world to Kennedy that she earned her spot at the IEA National meet.
“I have been so lucky to have great trainers who have given me the opportunity to do so much in our sport,” she says. “One of the biggest moments in my sport was this March at the IEA New England Zone finals in Springfield when I qualified to move on to nationals. It felt like such a huge accomplishment. There are 10 zones nationally, and the New England Zone is competitive and there are so many great riders. In IEA, you draw horses at random and you don’t get to ride your own horse, so it’s challenging, because you never know what horse you’ll draw and if you’ll click with him.”
Kennedy’s season is a combination of a marathon and a sprint in that it goes on for quite a while, although the opportunities to advance are sparse. However, in the end, Kennedy saw her finish line and crossed it by giving an exceptional effort.
“It was a long season, and you only have five shows to accumulate enough points during the regular season to qualify to ride in the region finals, and then you have to place first or second at the regional level to move on to zone finals,” says Kennedy. “I’m proud of being the high-point rider in my region for both flat and fences classes, and I was able to qualify both individually and was the point rider for my team. I try to work hard, and it was emotional when I realized that the hard work paid off. It may seem corny, but I have this vision board for the season, and it felt great to achieve my goal.”
Equestrian is a mentally taxing endeavor that requires its participants to constantly fine-tune their technical aspects. Kennedy enjoys the challenges of the sport, in addition to the bonds that she forms by working in unison with her horses.
“A lot of people say [equestrian] is sitting on the horse and it does all the work, but it’s more. I like how difficult it is,” Kennedy says. “In hunter-jumper riding, the challenge is to go around a course of different types of jumps and still make it look easy and elegant. You need to memorize the course. It is technical, and you need to plan the strides between the jumps and plan the turns and make sure your pace is right. You must find ways to connect with this animal and earn his or her trust, so that they will carry you safely. It is so special to be able to work with an animal doing something you love.”
One of Kennedy’s instructors, Tricia Carlton, notes Kennedy’s diligence toward her craft, as well as her ability to improvise on the fly. Carlton believes these are two of the biggest reasons why Kennedy has attained her stature in the equestrian world at such a young age.
“Kennedy is a student of the sport. She has an eye for distances, is a stickler for details, and has an extraordinary work ethic. I absolutely love teaching her and it has been truly enjoyable watching her successes,” Carlton says. “Kennedy is also dedicated to her horsemanship, which is crucial in a sport that relies on trust and communication with animals. This dedication to learning about her equine partner has attracted the attention of college coaches. She can adapt her riding to many different types of horses.”
Kennedy will have a packed schedule that includes several top-tier competitions around the country this spring and summer. Going forward, Kennedy wants to keep the ride going through high school and college, while potentially parlaying her athletic passion into a legal career.
“I have IEA National Finals coming up and, as competitive as it will be, I would love to earn a ribbon there. Both Holly and I have qualified for the Connecticut Hunter-Jumper finals, and the Fairfield-Westchester PHA finals this summer, and I really look forward to competing there,” Kennedy says. “Before I finish high school, I want to compete in the New England Equitation Championships and be a catch rider for people who want to put horse show miles on younger horses they own. My big dream is to ride on a Division I equestrian team in college and maybe be an equine lawyer.”