Recognized for her commemorable achievements, senior Sophia Devoll has completed the US Equestrian Athlete Lettering Program. To do this, she had to ride for over one hundred hours throughout her horseback riding career. 

This program was created to give recognition to young equestrians for their accomplishments and to encourage their future involvement in equestrian sport. US Equestrian recognizes the dedication of equestrians preparing for competition through practice and training sessions and honors individual achievements with a varsity letter.

Sophia has been riding horses for ten years now out of Two-Bit Farm in Pine Forge. As an uncommon sport to get into, her inspiration came from her first teacher.

“I went to nursery school at a barn, and my teacher made me want to get into riding.” 

Over the years she has participated in numerous IEA competitions and won prizes in some. However, one of her most memorable awards wasn’t for what you’d expect.

“Once I won a sportsmanship award for falling off my horse and shattering my elbow and arm.” 

Continuing to grow as an equestrian and compete, Sophia had to face some difficult choices along the way. One of the hardest was deciding to advance onto college and say goodbye to her own personal horses.
“It was really sad when I had to sell my two horses so I could pay for college. Their names were Heidi and Marshall.”