From early January through late March, 13-year-old Sophia Pilla, her younger sister and her parents will follow the same weekly routine. They will leave Ridgefield on Thursday evenings, fly to Florida, and then return on Sunday evenings.
It’s a grueling cycle, yet one that is necessary when you are among the country’s top junior equestrians.
Pilla, an eighth grader at East Ridge Middle School, has pushed herself into that prestigious company after a series of impressive results this year in the junior (18-under) division of the United States Equestrian Federation. Among them: A 12th-place finish in the Taylor Harris National Children’s Medal finals; a seventh-place finish in the Junior Hunters division at the World Championship Hunter Rider competition; and a fourth-place finish in the Stakes Class at the National Horse Show, which included only the top-15 riders and horses in the country.
There were also a host of first-place finishes throughout the year at various shows, including a victory in the World Championship Hunter Rider’s Northeast Region.
“We ended up meeting all of our goals,” said Pilla, who rode on Pop Rocks, a Dutch Warmblood whose father competed in the 2012 Olympics for Belgium. “Getting to the National Horse Show was outstanding for me.”
