Horseback riding takes priority in student-equestrian’s life after school

As hours of homework wait for her at home and the bitter wind blows hard enough to keep most people indoors, junior Lauren Atchley heads to Twin Mill Farm after school to work as an equestrian caretaker.

When she finishes caring for all the other horses, she pulls her own horse, Greyson, out of his stable. She grooms him and tacks him up, wrapping his legs in protective outerwear and placing a saddle pad on his back before saddling him up and taking him down to the arena where she practices her riding skills.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Atchley commutes to the stables. Her responsibilities include feeding, bringing in and checking on all the horses, as well as exercising two or three different horses each day.

“[Horseback riding] has taught me how to be responsible, how to get up out of bed and go to work,” Atchley said. “I have to take care of [my horse], I can’t just leave him alone. He’s more responsibility than just your dog or cat, so I think he’s taught me to work hard and shoot for the things I want to go for.”

Rain or shine, the other days when she’s not scheduled to work, she’s back at the stable doing what she loves most — riding.

“I ride every single day pretty much, no matter what,” Atchley said.

As suggested by her grandmother, Atchley got into to the sport after attending a horseback riding camp at age five, where her passion began.

“I went to this camp for a week and I was the littlest one there and I just fell in love with it,” Atchley said. “I was like, ‘This is what I have to do; I’m riding horses for the rest of my life.’”

Three years later, Atchley got her first pony and began competing. As she got older and her skills developed, however, she outgrew its capabilities and sold it for a new one. Her second horse was also sold after several years of competing.

Buying a new horse was no simple task for Atchley and her family. After spending lots of money in an unsuccessful search for a new horse, she was grateful to have found one nearby.

“It’s a lot of shopping online, it’s kind of like car shopping,” Atchley said. “I got a horse from St. Louis brought up to test ride; he didn’t really work out. We brought up another horse all the way from Texas back up home and he didn’t work out either. That’s a lot of money that we wasted trying to find a horse. Then, Greyson was right in our backyard — he was like half an hour away — so it worked out perfectly.”

Greyson has been with her since last April and their bond has already strengthened since his addition, according to Atchley.

“He’s like a little kid, just like a little brother. He’s super sweet and I’m finally kind of figuring him out after having him a year,” Atchley said. “I can just read him, I know what he’s thinking. He trusts me, I trust him. It’s just a unique bond: I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s really cool. He’s like my buddy.”

Working with a young horse has required more effort from Atchley. Her employer, Twin Mill Farm owner Courtney Nelson, recognizes Atchley’s overall passion for the sport and her efforts in improving Greyson’s skills.

“She loves it, which is huge. She’s got natural talent,” Nelson said. “She’s got Greyson now who is younger, so she’s kind of had to step back and move down to a lower level because she had to work with his abilities, and she’s brought him up and raised his level and continues to.”

Horseback riders train according to a level system. Beginning at the starter level, they can then move on to beginner, beginner-novice, novice, training, preliminary, intermediate and eventually the highest level, advanced. Atchley currently rides at the preliminary level, but hopes to work with Greyson and advance to the next level.

“Compared to others my age, I’m doing pretty well,” Atchley said. “If I had a really nice horse, I could be higher. I’m working with Greyson, but that’s what I want to do. I want to bring him up and say I made him. I wanna be able to say, ‘I worked with him. I trained him. I made him where he is now.’”

Her horseback riding career often takes priority in her life, as frequent practices and long hours spent working with Greyson are how she plans to advance.

“I do put in so many hours at the barn that schoolwork can get pushed to the side and I’m up until 11 p.m. or midnight just trying to get homework done,” Atchley said. “That’s where all my free time goes. I live, on the weekends, at the barn.”

The accumulation of various honors has accompanied her struggles with balancing her time between horses and schoolwork,

She’s placed in many different shows throughout her career, but Atchley’s proudest moment came in 2013 when she qualified for the American Eventing Championship, an esteemed national competition.

“I placed 19th out of the country, which was so cool being in eighth grade,” Atchley said. “It’s amazing.”

Atchley is inspired by professional riders and hopes to someday ride in the Olympics.

“I see [Olympic riders] and I’m like, ‘That’s where I wanna be someday. That’s what I wanna do,’” Atchley said. “That’s a huge goal to say, that you want to ride in the Olympics, but it’s something that could be achievable if I wanted it to be. That’s really cool, knowing that it’s an option.”

For Nelson, her main hope is that Atchley continue to enjoy what she does.

“My goal, in anything that you do, is to have fun, which I think she does,” Nelson said. “As long as she’s moving towards her own goals and having fun with it, that’s all I want.”

As far as Atchley is concerned, her passion for horses will stay with her for a lifetime, whether she continues riding or not.

“I want to be riding until I’m old. I think I will always have horses no matter what. If I get to the point in my life where I’m super busy with a family and a job, I’ll still have horses,” Atchley said. “I don’t think that’ll ever go away, whether I keep competing after college.”