A young Sea to Sky equestrian rider is saddling up to represent Zone 5 in the upcoming BC Summer Games and hoping to qualify for an international tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Thirteen-year-old show jumper Ailsa Antilla will be competing with her pony Celtic Fyre in the three day Langley event this July, being the only 麻豆社国产rider in the equestrian competition.
Antilla and a couple of Vancouver riders are the only three equestrians scheduled to represent communities from Lillooet, to the Sunshine Coast, and Vancouver.
"I'm so happy. It's a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity, so I'm super happy," said the admittedly nervous Antilla.
Since she grew up on a farm with a mother who is a riding instructor, so Antilla has been around horses from a very early age.
"She's always ridden," said her mother Jinny.
"At two years old, she slapped me on my hand and said 'Don't hold my horse.' So she's kind of always had that passion and that grittiness that goes with [riding] to be really successful because you have to be really tough."
Jinny said it wasn't difficult fort her to teach her own child about riding because Ailsa is a naturally athletic kid who would willingly spend hours on a horse passing the time as her mother instructed others.
"She'd go and ride for hours and hours and hours while I was teaching other kids and that's really what made the difference was the hours and hours in the saddle just experimenting."
By the age of four, and thanks to riding lessons from her mother, Antilla was competing in show jumping and talking about wanting to be an Olympic equestrian athlete. By the age of 10 Antilla moved on to coach and professional rider Brian Morton, and still spoke about her dreams to be a world-class equestrian athlete.
"She's been really consistent. She's really pursued that dream, right from the get go. That's what she always really wanted to do," said her mother who operates the 麻豆社国产riding school.
In preparation for her BC Summer Games competition Morton said he's been trying to expose Antilla to as much competition as possible, so she can be at the top of her game in the 1m 10cm show jumping class at the BC Summer Games.
"What I hope first and foremost for her is that it's a good experience and something that seasons her that little bit more to pressure competition so that she comes out of it with that little bit more experience," said Morton who has been coaching and competing professionally for the last five years and riding for the last 22 years.
Morton believes Antilla is more than capable of winning plenty of ribbons with Celtic Fyre at the BC Summer Games.
"She also has a chance to win a few medals if she can go in there with her pony on the same page as she is and they both bring their A game. They've got a real chance to do well."
In August, Antilla is scheduled to compete in the 1m 20cm jumping class with her larger horse named Dorado at the John Anderson Rocky Mountain Show Jumping classic tournament in Alberta.
"I'm pretty excited. It's a big show place for riding and it's super nice," Antilla said.
She hasn't competed at that level before but Morton has faith Antilla can do it and if she performs well she would qualify to compete in the children's finals at the F茅d茅ration 脡questre Internationale (FEI) in Dubai later this year.
"When the jumps get higher the course gets harder, so you have to be pretty perfect to do that height," Antilla said.
"Ailsa's more than capable riding at that level. So I think she can go there and put in a good result and hopefully qualify herself for the FEI children's final."
After she's qualified, it's up to the selection committee to determine which four 12, 13 and 14 year old riders will represent Canada.
Since a trip to Dubai rides on a good performance at the Rocky Mountain show, Antilla admits there is an addition pressure to perform, especially because she will be too old to try again next year if she doesn't do well this time around.
Competing in the FEI, could have an excellent impact on Antilla's riding future.
"That would be a huge and exciting honour for her. It's the kind of thing that can really spring board one's riding career."
