Knowing horses by heart
Great Village teen heading to international competition
Michael Congdon is heading to North Carolina for an international equestrian event, but he won’t be saddling up.
The 17-year-old Great Village resident is Eastern Canada’s representative in the North America Challenge Quiz, part of the U.S. Pony Club Eastern Championships.
“Horses have been my passion since I was very, very little,” said Congdon.
“There’s something about riding. You need such a high level of focus and concentration it keeps other things out.”
Congdon has gone to the Nova Scotia quiz four times and the national twice.
His second-place finishes at the national event for the past two years helped when he applied for the international event. Only four Canadians are chosen.
“The quiz includes some of the weirdest and most outlandish horse facts,” he said.
“I enjoy learning bizarre facts.
To prepare I read any horserelated material I can get my hands on.”
The quiz includes a written phase, and an ID phase where competitors identify things like tools, pieces of tack and feeds. There is also a barn section where competitors are given a scenario and must act out what they should do.
The national quiz included examining x-rays and having competitors determine what condition the horse had or naming the heads of equestrian organizations and high-level horse and rider partnerships.
He got his first pony when he was four and now has four horses of his own, and another he shares with his father. To help cover their costs he is working part time at Clarence’s Farm Services.
He takes part in show jumping, dressage and eventing, and does a bit of driving with the Nova Scotia Driving Society.
“Just being around horses is good,” he added. “If I ever need to relax and chill out I go to the barn to groom horses or clean stalls.”
Congdon leaves today for the Tryon International Equestrian Center, where the quiz will be held Friday and Saturday.