For area teen, it’s competition on the mount

The young athlete hopes to compete in 2008 in the World Games competition in Australia.

By AMANDA C. DAVIS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBIANA — Laura Crowl, 16, likes to hang out with friends, watch TV and play on the computer. But in contrast to most of her peers, the soon-to-be high school junior has already checked a major life goal off her to-do list.

Laura was one of seven on the U.S. team that placed first in July at the International Mounted Games competition. The event was sponsored in Lexington, Ky., by the United States Pony Clubs.

Mounted games is a riding sport. The idea is to perform tasks such as hitting a small joust target on the ground while riding at high speed. For the most part, only ponies are used for mounted games. However, horses up to 15 hands (60 inches) tall are used to allow heavier riders to compete.

The sport requires a high degree of athletic agility, precise hand-eye coordination and, as you might imagine, sharp riding skills.

It had been 13 years since the U.S. placed first in the competition, and Laura, who represents the Western Reserve Pony Club, Tri-State Region, said participating in the event was the thrill of a lifetime.

“It was so exciting,” she said. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet that we won.”

Sense of closeness

Laura has been riding ponies and horses “since diapers” but caught the competitive bug in 2002 when she and a friend went to the national mounted games competition.

What she says she likes best about the sport is the sense of closeness that’s inevitable when riders, their ponies and teammates spend so much time together.

The lack of boundaries in the sport also appeals to Laura, who added, “It’s not like we’re just going around in circles all the time.”

Laura’s mother, Carroll Crowl, calls those who participate in mounted games “the wild children and punk rockers of equestrian sports.”

Because of the physical challenges and obvious risk for injury, Crowl said riders have to be fearless if they are going to succeed in the sport.

For Laura, fearlessness is not to be confused with cockiness.

She said the difference is about trust, respect and safety.

“I don’t get scared at all,” she said. “I have a lot of trust in my pony to take care of me.”

She has fallen on her head several times while riding, in addition to having her hands and wrist stepped on by various ponies. She hasn’t broken any bones but says she usually has to go home to “ice something” after a competition

Laura lives with her mother; father, Thomas; and sister, Jennifer, 20, on County Line Road, where they share 50 acres with 10 ponies and horses. The property also has a barn with stalls and an indoor riding area where Laura and her teammates practice.

Practice drill

On a recent overcast morning, Laura showed off her skills during practice, along with friends Olivia Test, 12, of Negley; Kevin Smith, 17, of Hanoverton; and Devin Pingree, 16, of Beaver Falls, Pa.

They performed a drill in which the riders passed batons to one another while riding fast. Another drill had the riders moving metal coffee cups from one pole to another, and each took turns popping balloons on the ground with a pole while riding past.

Laura performed a “vault on/off” where she jumped off her pony, Speed Demon, hit both feet on the ground and ran alongside him before using her strength to get back up in the saddle, a move that would have done Roy Rogers proud.

In another drill, Laura performs a reach, where she hooks her leg in the saddle and dangles down the side of the horse, touching the ground as the pony is moving quickly.

Her mom said this is one drill where Laura has to put unwavering trust in her pony and pointed out that Speed Demon leans in the opposite direction to balance Laura’s weight.

“He could kill her pretty easily if he wanted to,” Carroll said. “He has to want to help her.”

The ponies that work best in this type of competition have to be brave, responsive, athletic and willing to work with their riders, she explained.

Laura said that it’s important for riders to feel a connection with their ponies and that each has to rely on the other to get the task done safely.

International contests

Laura played on a mounted games team from Botswana when they competed in the U.S. and has an open invitation to travel there to play anytime she wants, her mother explained.

She also said Great Britain is trying to get the mounted games added to the roster for the 2012 Olympic Games being hosted there.

Laura’s next big goal is to make it to the World Games competition in Australia in October 2008. To increase her chances of qualifying, she says she will be trying out to represent both the U.S. and Canadian teams there.

The self-described tomboy, who gets straight A’s “for the most part,” says she would like to be a neurosurgeon one day. Other hobbies include editing videos from the competitions she takes part in.

There is an easy, self-assured nature about her that she attributes to discipline she’s learned from the sport.

“There’s no one out there to help me,” she said. “I have to rely on myself.”

Carroll Crowl said there are about 20 local young people involved in the Western Reserve Pony Club, but that there’s always room for more.

She said there are no upcoming competitions in this area and that "We are trying real hard to build enough interest in this area so we can have competitions here." Until then, they will travel quite a bit to compete, and she said the closest locations are Columbus and Maryland.

For more information or to get involved, call her at (330) 429-0060 or visit www.ponyclub.org.