Photo Story: Horseback Rider

Anika Lockhart

Photos and Text by Justine Lockhart

The heat has already started to peak, but to Anika Lockhart it doesn’t matter. Even as the sweat rolls down her face, she keeps riding, pushing herself, and her horse, onward. Lockhart has been riding horses since she was a child but she didn’t get back into it until 2013. “I’ve always loved horse since I can remember,” Lockhart said.

After picking up her old hobby, she began training for shows. Lockhart rides dressage, a type of horseback riding in which the rider makes the horse perform choreographed movements. Horse and rider have to be in tune with one another to be successful, but Lockhart believes that she and her horse, Bentley, have developed a special relationship. “You have to work in harmony with the horse,” Lockhart said. “You have to work with them and build up a relationship where they want to work and they actually enjoy it.”

Lockhart’s love for horses has not been dulled since childhood, and she plans to keep riding for as long as she can. “It’s a very relaxing but also challenging activity,” Lockhart said. “I love everything about it.”

 

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