Horseback riding since she was eight years old and competing in multiple world championships, Senior Angela Calabria has an undeniable passion for riding that cannot be tamed.

Calabria rides a very specific style called Saddle Seat, an English style of riding.

“Most people don’t know what Saddle seat is. It’s not jumping, it’s not barrel racing, it’s not plain old horse racing, and it’s not dressage. It’s based on the rider’s form and the movement and motion of the horse, so both horse and rider can be judged.”

This style requires that the rider and the horse form a team and depend on each other.

The horse Calabria rides is “Lily’s Castle,” but her and her family call her Lily for short. She is an American Saddlebred.

During lessons Calabria said she and her younger sister practice “the walk, the trot, which is like a jog, and the canter, which is like a slowed down controlled version of the gallop.”

Since both the rider and the horse are being judged, they also have to make sure Lily looks as best as she can and that their form is correct. This includes the placement of their legs, how they’re sitting on the saddle, and their bodily position while riding. Both the rider and the horse need to be in control and have grace while riding.

While this may not seem exciting, Calabria said that, “The horse is different every time. They’re living animals, you have to deal with the kind of day they’re having, the kind of day you’re having, and what’s thrown at you.”

She also enjoys the excitement that is involved. “You’re probably in the ring about 20, 25 minutes, but that rush is incredible.” Another one of favorite parts of riding is meeting new people and making new friends.

Since Calabria is starting her Freshman year of College in 2016, she hopes to continue riding or do something with horses. Some of the colleges she’s been looking at have riding teams, but do not have Saddle Seat because it isn’t as common.

Calabria has to balance riding, school work, and clubs. With all of that to do one might start to put forth little effort in one part of her life such as school work, but she has found that riding makes her a better student. “I’m not going to lie, the work gets hard, some late nights, but I make it a priority. It forces me to almost be a better student, to have to be really conscientious about what work I’m missing and what work I’m going to have to makeup. I do think I’d be a very different person, especially, maybe a different student, you know, if it hadn’t been for horseback riding and that level of concentration dedication, that it takes.”

Author Aldous Huxley once said, “I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.” Perhaps he should have spoken to Angela Calabria because if anyone knows what true passion is, it’s her.