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Sports of All Sorts II: Taking the Reins
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - February 07, 2010)
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 Photo courtesy of Jeff Kirkbride Photography
Brittany Woodard competes at last year’s Ohio State Fair.
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Schools and youth leagues provide young people with lots of traditional sports options, but what about the athletes whose interests lie outside the norm? The following story is the second in a four-part series about Madison County kids who are pursuing sports off the beaten path.
“I kept thinking she would grow out of it. Even I grew out of it by the time I was in eighth grade,” said West Jefferson resident Teresa Woodard, whose daughter, Brittany, started riding horses at 5 years old.
Brittany, now 15, graduated from taking lessons to competing year-round four years ago. She is a state and national champion in equestrian sports and shows no signs of stopping.
“I want to get on an intercollegiate team and maybe study equine science,” said the West Jefferson High School freshman.
In the summers, Brittany competes as part of the Young Riders 4-H Club. During the school year, she rides for Dare Equestrian, a horse-riding team based in Hilliard that competes on the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) circuit.
“I really like the team aspect. It’s fun to encourage people,” said Brittany, who benefitted from older riders’ guidance in her first years of competition and now gets to return the favor.
This is Brittany’s fourth year on Dare Equestrian’s English team, members of which perform jumps and equitation (patterns and railwork). It’s Brittany’s second year in Western, which she describes as “more like cowboy-style riding.” For Western, she competes in horsemanship, similar to equitation but with a heavier saddle, bigger stirrups, and glitzier attire. She hasn’t yet started reining, the other Western category.
“I like the jumping in English and the horsemanship in Western,” said Brittany, who designs her own shirts for the latter.
IEA riders earn points during the regular season to qualify for regionals. Brittany made it last year with 42 points; this year, she already has 47, and regionals aren’t until March. At regionals, top placers go to the five-state zone show. The next stop is nationals. Brittany went to the top in 2009, placing first at zones and first at nationals in novice horsemanship.
This year’s IEA nationals are in Atlanta at the Olympic Equestrian Center. Brittany said she really wants to make that trip to Georgia.
Her mom appreciates the opportunities IEA provides from the local level on up.
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 Photo courtesy of Worland Photography
Brittany competes at an Interscholastic Equestrian Association event in January 2010.
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“It pushes Brittany to be a better rider and gives her a goal to work for in lessons,” Teresa said.
IEA was founded in Willoughby, Ohio, in 2002. Its primary mission is to promote and improve the quality of equestrian competition and instruction available to students ages 11-19. In a few short years, the association has gone from 617 rider members on 43 teams in 12 states to over 1,600 members on over 200 teams across the country.
“What’s unique about IEA is that you don’t have to own a horse to participate,” Teresa explained. “You draw your horse at each show, which tests your skills and makes it more affordable.”
Host teams at competitions supply the horses, saddles and other tack, sometimes borrowing from area training barns and facilities. The set-up is integral to IEA’s goal to make the sport accessible to more young people.
“I’ve learned so much from riding all different horses,” Brittany said.
Because their daughter not only competes for IEA but also for 4-H, which requires entrants to bring their own horses, Teresa and her husband, Brian, lease a horse from April to August. From September to April, they go with the horseless IEA model, though that might change this year.
“We just recently started shopping for a horse,” Teresa said. “Brittany has shown that her interest will be sustained... and that she can take on the responsibility and go to the next level.”
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EQUESTRIAN At-a-glance
Brittany Woodard
Age: 15
Years in the sport: 10
Coach: Linda Dare
Team: Dare Equestrian, which includes riders from Franklin, Madison and Union counties
Top accomplishments: In April 2009, Woodard won the Interscholastic Equestrian Association’s five-state zone championship for novice horsemanship, then advanced to nationals where she won again, as did her team.
She also was the 2009 Ohio State Fair champion in the Hunter Hack class for 12- to 18-year-olds.
Next competition: An English show on Feb. 27 in Athens, Ohio
Aspirations: To compete on an intercollegiate team and possibly major in equine science. The University of Findlay, Miami University, Ohio State, Otterbein College, and Ohio University have strong equestrian programs.
Other sports: Soccer and cheerleading at West Jefferson High School
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