MURILLO, ON - Three local teens won’t want to get off their high horses while competing on the international stage this September.
Kayla Palmer, Alexis Noga and her twin Andrea Noga are riders who train on Dell Farm in Murillo, ON.
They qualified to compete in an international equestrian competition in Bogota, Colombia, to represent Canada.
Although the team will qualify as individuals, the trio from Dell Farm will make up three of the four Canadians competing.
“Nervousness,” said 16-year-old Kayla Palmer when asked how she’s feeling about the future event.
The riders won’t travel to Colombia until September, but coach Leila Farmer is already emotionally preparing herself.
“I know last year a Canadian won bronze and the coach started crying,” she said. “I expect something similar.”
The trio of riders have entered in various out-of-town competitions for the last five years.
Best friends on and off the grounds, the girls are looking forward to the experience of competing internationally.
“There’s going to be a lot of good competition, so I’m going down there to get a lot of experience not necessarily to win,” said Andrea Noga.
The week-long tournament will include just two days of training and familiarizing themselves with their new horse, and then three days of competition against countries from around the world.
“I think they’re really excited to represent Canada, even though they will be competing against each other, there’s still a sense of camaraderie… it’s still a team for Canada,” Farmer said.
“It’s going to be an eye-opening experience for them.”
Among other reasons, the girls agree that the sense of personal satisfaction and competition keeps them motivated to pursue their goals in equestrian.
“It’s really fun and we get lots of adrenaline,” Alexis said. “It’s rewarding riding the horses, they always give back to us at the end of the day.”
The competition will run from Sept. 3-10, and feature 25 different countries.
