Clark rides solo, capping season with second at State
By Ginna Young
Competing at a state level is hard enough for a team, but individually, it can be even harder. For Cornell junior Izzy Clark, she rose to the occasion, placing second in her division.
As part of Division D of District 5 (Cornell, Elk Mound, Elmwood, Plum City), Izzy competed against the other teams to earn a trip to State, held Oct. 25-27, at the Allianz Energy Center in Madison.
Her coach, Bonnie Weber, said Clark worked hard to earn her placing and that she represented her school well.
“I’m proud to coach a kid like her, that’s dedicated as she is to improve in this sport,” said Bonnie. “It’s a lot of hard work to change into each discipline of riding three to four times, and go into each class and perform so well, without getting flustered.”
Bonnie said it’s also a lot of work to change clothes and tack every other class.
“Being on a team by yourself is a lot of work, but even though I am the only rider, I have lots of teammates” said Izzy. “Of course, my horses are an important part of the team, but they are not the only ones there for me. On this ‘one rider team,’ is my amazing mom, who hauls me to every single horse show, my dad, my coach (Bonnie), both of my grandmas, my supporting friends and of course, my two horses.”
During the State competition, Izzy placed second in saddlese at showmanship, bareback horsemanship, walk/trot horsemanship and saddlese at equitation. She also placed fourth in ranch riding, western showmanship, western horsemanship, flag and sand, and key race. Izzy also placed fifth in pole bending; sixth in barrel racing; eighth in trail; ninth in huntseat sportsmanship and huntese at equitation, and 10th in discipline rail.
All that and one of her horses was just trained this spring for the sport, by Izzy.
“She just makes me so proud...it’s very stressful showing by yourself and she handled it like a trooper,” said Amy Clark, Izzy’s mom.
If anyone is interested in joining Izzy on next year’s team, they must be a resident of the Cornell/Holcombe school districts, in sixth-12th grade. A horse is required, with the team starting practice the end of July or beginning August.
To sign up or for more information, parents/students can contact Bonnie at 715-669-3272.
“Walking into this season, I wasn’t expecting to do this well at State level, but with a lot of commitment, hard work and loving support, my horses and I were able to pull off this amazing achievement,” said Izzy. “To me, the most awarding part of this sport, is being able to work with horses that give it their all, each and every ride.”
