To say the Gabert family loves horses would be an understatement.
From eight-year-old Annalise’s shirt decked out with a horse to mom MaryLynn’s horseshoe necklace and horse painted purse, the family shows their passion for their beloved animal through everything they do.
Growing up MaryLynn rode occasionally. Her family owned a race horse and loved every aspect of horse racing. Fast forwarding to her own family, the love for horse riding continues with her daughter Annalise.
Most recently, the 2nd grader at Sharon Elementary spent six weeks flying back and forth to Gulfport, Mississippi, to compete in the 2016 Gulf Coast Winter Circuit Competition. Her horse “Huck” stayed in Mississippi while she traveled to make sure she didn’t miss much school.
She sometimes missed three days of school, other times one, but she stayed on track with her classmates by doing homework between showings and on the plane. Every week, she made a slideshow to keep her classmates up-to-date about how she was doing in the competition and used her Chromebook to write to her friends about Gulfport while she was there.
“They all were thinking it’s awesome!” Annalise said.
What’s most impressive is that Annalise placed first and became the 2016 Gulf Coast Winter Circuit Champion beating out the adult riders in her division, Hunter. The number of competitors ranged each week from a couple dozen to a couple hundred. Annalise had the highest combined score for the circuit.
Right now, Annalise competes in Hunter races, where competitors show their horses at a controlled speed unlike race horses. This race is more “proper” where judges watch for heels and the agility of the horse rather than how fast it can run. Her love for horseback riding grew from the age of 2 when she went with a friend to a farm and got on a horse.
“I went with Addison one day, and she let me ride, and every day since I’ve wanted to ride,” Annalise said.
And ever since then, the eight-year-old has had the passion and determination to be the best by practicing and competing. The Gulf Coast circuit was the first time she competed at a large, national competition, but Annalise has gone to several competitions in the tri-state area. She has been riding Hunter since she started on a horse.
Annalise rides her horse Land’s End Huckleberry, better known as “Huck”, at Tustin Farms in Hainsport three to four times a week. She trains with John Mastriano in riding for 30-60 minutes each time, spending over two hours carrying for her pony at the farm. Huck is the third horse Annalise has ridden, and soon will go into retirement.
“Huck’s old and he’s at his max jump, so I’ll be onto a new horse soon,” Annalise said. “I’ll see him there all the time, though.”
Annalise started showing locally at 4-years-old and won competitions, such as one in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at a young age.
Her brother Kole, who’s in the fifth grade at Pond Road Middle School, even tried his hand at riding. He used to ride alongside his sister, but fell off one time and has moved onto focusing on baseball.
“She has a passion for horseback riding, and I haven’t seen anything like it,” MaryLynn said. “As long as she’s passionate about it we will continue supporting her.”
Her favorite thing to do on a horse? Jump.
“Huck loves to jump and I love to jump, so it’s perfect,” Annalise said.
MaryLynn added, “She loves jumping so much she goes in the backyard and practices it.”
Annalise wants to keep riding for years to come. Although her dad, Kurt, and brother don’t ride, they support her in following and literally chasing her dreams.
“I truly do think she’ll be horse riding forever. It’s all she thinks about and all she talks about. It’s everything to her,” MaryLynn said.
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