Three high school equestrian team members, Otsego freshman Addelyne Marie Hudson, Bowling Green junior Zoe Vrooman, and Liberty Center junior Brookelynn Grace Miller, credit their mothers for their love of horses.

Hudson and Miller were both competing in the Wood County Horse and Pony Club’s Belt Buckle Series at the Wood County Fairgrounds on July 6-7 to prepare for upcoming fair competitions and then the Ohio Interscholastic Horsemanship Association’s high school fall season.

The Belt Buckle Series includes mostly Western and English disciplines competing in dozens of events for all ages.

For Hudson, riding began at the age of 3, explaining that she was riding “as soon as I could walk.” Her mother Christina Burghhardt was and still is her mentor. Burghhardt competed not only locally, but went to shows as far away as Georgia.

“My mom always had horses when she was a kid,” Hudson said. “She always contested, she had pleasure as well, and then I grew up around horses, so I always wanted to be like my mom. She is a very big influence in my life and ever since I was real young I want to be just like her.

“The first horse I ever rode was one that was trained by my mom,” Hudson said. “His name was J.R. and he was probably one of the best horses I ever rode. I showed him a bit but then we just recently had to retire him.”

On Saturday competition at the Belt Buckle Series Hudson was competing in barrel racing, pole bending, stakes and key hole events. She now rides an 8-year-old American quarter horse that she named Cookie Dough when Hudson was 7-years-old.

“He is currently in training for contesting,” Hudson said. “He is fully broke, so he is really a good horse. He’s doing very well. My mom likes to say we are too peas in a pod.

“We both have zero patience, and I think we have a really good bond because you can always tell if something is wrong, like something will be off. It’s real easy to feel him and know how he’s feeling and what is right to do in the moment. So, I’d say our bond is really good.”

For Hudson, who will compete in her first season with the Otsego equestrian team this fall, no matter what event she competes in, she just wants the performance to better than the last.

“I think as long as my horse and I improve I think that qualifies as a good show,” Hudson said.

Vrooman following a leader

Vrooman’s mother, Amanda Vrooman, played a major role in creating the Belt Buckle Series and continued coordinating the events this summer.

The club oversees shows at the fairgrounds for local 4-H clubs Sunset Saddlers, Saddles N’ Surry’s, Hoofbeats, Horses R Us, Wood N Horses, Mane Attraction, All Tacked Up, Rough Riders, and Cactus Kids, but welcomes independent riders of all ages. You’ll see riders barely older than toddler status all the way up to adults competing in the open division.

Zoe began riding at age 7 and is a veteran rider for the BGHS equestrian team, where she will be joined by her freshman sister Emma this year. Zoe did not compete in the Belt Buckle Series on Saturday so could assist her sister and other riders from All Tacked Up.

For Zoe, it was easy following the lead set by her mother.

“I just got some lessons for my birthday, and my sister and I started riding at this barn and we were there for five years,” Zoe said. “Then three years after being at that barn, we met (first-year BG equestrian coach) Emily (Carty), now my sister and I’s trainer, and we’ve been riding with her ever since.”

Zoe will be the first to tell you that working with horses is hard work and takes a lot of time.

“It’s a lot of hours of sitting in the barn and just being around them and taking care of them, and then just working with a trainer to help you ride and get better,” Zoe said.

Family tradition

For Liberty Center’s Miller, it was not just her mother who influenced her, but it goes back to her aunt and grandfather.

“Mother did barrel racing, my aunt did pleasure, I started with pleasure before I went to contesting so I learned how to ride,” Miller said.

She has ridden her entire life, but first started showing at age 13. On Saturday, she was at the Belt Buckle Series to compete in pole bending, barrel racing, key hole, and stakes, competing mostly in the Western discipline.

She has competed at the Gibsonburg Saddle Club and also traveled to Williams County for competition this summer. Her horse Rowdy is a big reason why she enjoys the events.

“I like the experience and how the horses trust you and all that stuff,” Miller said. “When I first started he really took care of me and went slow with me and then we built up some speed. Now, we’re pretty good.

“I want to go to bigger shows but I feel like an upgrade because my horse is getting older. Rowdy is 9, but he still has a couple years.

“It’s gotten a lot better. When I walked away from him at Shipshewana (Indiana) he was squealing at me and all that stuff.”