Our Featured Junior Rider of the Month is Ava Sumner
As promised, we are continuing with our Friday features to continue to recognise the very special people and horses who comprise the Lancer community. This month, our Featured Junior Rider for April is Ava Sumner!
Ava has been a Lancer since 2013 when she joined our Junior Beginner Course, after being a fan of the Lancer horses for a few years. She explains, “I started at Lancers because I always loved seeing the horses in turnout and I wanted to know what it would be like to ride them.” After seven years of hard work on her riding and horsemanship skills, she is now in Ride 2.
Ava is an active Junior Member, participating in many of the activities Lancers has to offer. She is a Pony Club member, a rider in the Musical Ride, competes in training shows, and attends our very popular Salmon River Camp each summer. After competing in the Downtown Horse Show, she is excited to find more opportunities to show. “One of my favourite memories from Lancers was my first real horse show, the Downtown Horse Show. That was what made me really want to start showing more. It was so fun and such a good learning experience!”
When asked about her favourite Lancer horse, Ava chooses newcomer, Clementine, who was named last autumn in an online vote by the people of Halifax!
Ava feels the community is one of the best things about Lancers. She enjoys getting to meet so many new people from different backgrounds and have new experiences and says that everyone is very kind. She also credits Lancers with giving her a place to learn and grow as a person: “Lancers has made me a more caring person and has really taught me about responsibilities and horsemanship.”
We always appreciate that Ava takes her Lancer responsibilities so seriously. But already at the age of 14, she also carries with her poise, politeness, and grace. She is ready to answer the call and it is wonderful to see her helping other Lancers. One such moment that exemplifies her character was when there was a Lancer who just had a therapeutic riding lesson and needed some help. The Lancer needed to change their stirrups and required some assistance with the fine minor skills task. Ava happily began working with the other Lancer. But rather than taking over and just doing it for the rider Ava patiently provided assistance and encouragement to facilitate the rider to accomplish the task themselves. There were no boundaries; just two Lancers working as a team with some shared giggles along the way.
With Lancers closed and riding lessons suspended at the moment due to COVID 19, Ava is keeping busy at home. She told us, “I am spending my time with my family, cleaning, doing school work and walking my dog, Gibby. I feel thankful for my family and for technology that allows me to connect with friends!”
While Ava is not exactly sure what she wants to do when she is older, she does know she would like to keep horses in her life. “I see myself wanting to own or work at a barn and staying involved with horses and riding for a very long time.” We can’t wait to see what the future holds for her and we look forward to having her around the barn even more.
