HPHS student Chloe Davenport rides horses at the Dallas Equestrian Center. Chloe is a junior who moved this year from Kent School in Connecticut. Shas been riding horses for 15 years and it’s one of her favorite pastimes. Her horse, Cracker, is a thoroughbred. Chloe used to compete all over Southern California at many high ranking horse shows and is beginning to compete in Zone 7 which consists of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Kansas. She plans to bring her horse to college with her but no longer compete.

Chloe has ridden for many reasons. She rides in order to create a bond with her horse. It also allows her to de-stress, and it is a huge part of her life. Chloe rides Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. She rides for three hours every day. Each day consists of different training. For example, Tuesdays she practices jump training. On Wednesdays, she practices ground work. The rest of the days of the week they practice on whatever she and her horse need. In order to take care of her horse, Cracker goes on treadmills, is taken to the doctor, and has his legs iced. He gets new horseshoes put on every 6 weeks. Chloe has had Cracker since August, but he was not her first horse. She has had Pumpkin, Pippy, Trake, Yukon, Steve, Beluga, Jackson, and then Cracker. Out of all these horses, Cracker is her favorite. Cracker is a nice brown color with black legs. He is 16.1 hands and he’s 13 years old. For horses, 13 is about middle age. Often times, horses live to be about 22-28.

“I cannot imagine my life without horses in it” Chloe says. “Riding has become part of my identity” she says.