Sara Kozumplik Has It As She Likes It - page 2

Confidence in her horse helps her overcome that fear. "I have such trust in this horse," she said. "He's 11 now and I've had him since he was six, just off the track, and we did Pony Club together. We have a really good relationship."

A long-time student of Jimmy Wofford, Kozumplik has also been working with Darren Chiacchia. She was fortunate to travel to Europe on the Developing Rider program, where she says she learned more in two weeks than in a lifetime, just watching riders like David O'Connor and Bruce Davidson having lessons and working with their horses. Her father is American and her mother is British, so she has dual nationality, which makes competing abroad a little simpler.

Kozumplik herself has brought along five Advanced horses so far, supporting her riding by taking them off the track, training them to event, and then selling them. Currently she also has As You Like It's brother, What You Will. She planned to compete him at Rolex too but a fall at North Georgia made her change her mind and stick with one horse for her first four-star challenge.