It's not easy for an athlete to win a league championship, a state championship, and especially a national championship.  The competition is so very good at all those levels.  However, athletes who train at Brenric Stables, near Edinboro, have been competing at a national level since 2008.

The sport is horse riding and members of the Lake Effect Equestrian Team do it well. Team members are in grades 4 through 12.  A dozen of the teams 27 members have advanced from the regional competition and are preparing to represent Lake Effect at the next round of competition in New Jersey.  Riders from the Pennsylvania- New Jersey zone will attempt to win a spot at the national competition in South Carolina.

"I'm very excited for this team,” says Lindsay Filley, Team Coach.  “They have worked very hard this year.  They love the sport. They love the horses.  I'm so glad to see it pay off for them."  

In this sport, your teammate is your horse.  In the Flat Class competition, the rider and horse must present a perfect profile to the judges as they navigate the arena floor. The rider must show confidence and bring out the best in the horse.

"You have to be willing to bond with the horse.  You have to be easy going.  Trustworthy. You have to exhibit calmness and be patient,” says Cameron Good, 16, of Fairview.  

In the Jumping Class competition, the horse and rider must show precision and style.

"It's a teamwork between the rider and the horse. So you have to make sure you're communicating with the horse properly so they know they're safe with you and you're safe with them,” says Maddy Vogt, 11, of Fairview.  

There’s so much teamwork between rider and horse.  That's why there’s an amazing aspect in these middle and high school-aged competitions.  The horses these kids ride in the competitions are selected at random and provided by the host stable. That has to be nerve-racking right?

"You're always anticipating and you're really nervous, but really excited about who you are going to draw.  It's the luck of the draw,” says Sophie Becker, 13, of Erie.

"I think it's exciting to ride new horses,” adds Isabella Goodman, 13, of Edinboro. “I like feeling how these other horses are and what's new with them." 

It's a sport of etiquette.

”We do have to dress up fancy.  We have to wear a white shirt and around horses it really is hard to keep clean,” says Grace Bierbower, 11, of Lake City.  

It's a sport of bonding with horses.

"They're amazing,: says Bella Owens, 14, of Erie. “They'll do anything for you if you trust them and let them do their thing."

This week's training is over.  It's time to compete.

"I feel confident,” says Addison Gadley, 17, of Erie. “I'm just ready to let whatever happens happen and see how it goes."

Only 400 riders make it to nationals each year out of a pool of 11,000.  That puts Lake Effect in the top 3% of national riders since it was established in 2008.  The Zone Competition in New Jersey begins Saturday, March 16 and runs through Sunday, March 17.