It’s fall. The stands are packed, the stadium is playing Thunderstruck, and the crowd watches as the boys walk out, ready to play a game of football. It’s winter, and the stands are packed in the gym, waiting for the basketball team to walk out. Some sports, however, that people love, aren’t the first sport you’d think of when it comes to going out to see a game. Some of our very own students participate outside of school in things like Wushu and competitive horseback riding.
Wushu is a Chinese martial art and consists of stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps, and throws. It contains 2 parts which are taolu (forms) and sanda (sparring). Junior Jessica Shyy has been training in this for 10 years and competing for 9.
“It’s great exercise and keeps me healthy and in shape,” Shyy said. “I love training and coaching as well as the thrill and excitement of competing and winning.”
Although Wushu isn’t a sport people often know about, when asked how she felt about the sport not being offered in school, Shyy had something to say.
“It would definitely be awesome if Wushu was offered at school,” Shyy said. “A friend and I actually tried to start a Wushu club last year.”
Competitive horseback riding is another sport students wouldn’t often think about as a traditional sport. Sophomore Heidi Graupp, however, has been competitively horseback riding for 5 years at Fox Meadow Farm Riding School.
Heidi Graupp riding her horse at fox Meadow Farm Riding School
“What I love the most is connecting with your horse and reading and feeling their body language,” Graupp said. “It’s amazing because they can almost read your mind.”
When asked how she felt about riding not being offered by the school, she said that she wished it was.
“It would make me more eager to go to school,” Graupp said.
Junior Nikki Raymond doesn’t competitively ride because horseback riding is very expensive and takes a lot of commitment.
She started when she was eight because all her friends did it. She stopped when she was 14, but recently she became more involved. Now, she teaches horseback riding to kids at a barn near her house.
“You can build a relationship with your horse as opposed lacrosse,” Raymond said. “You can’t build a relationship with your lacrosse stick. There’s something else there.”
The cost, which is $450 for every eight lessons at Raymond’s barn and the difficulty of horseback riding can scare off many prospective riders.
“It’s very hard at first,” Raymond said. “It’s hard to get used to because there’s so much you have to keep in mind.”
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