Barrington student ready to meet the competition
At every school pep rally, football and basketball game she attends, Cassidy Lundmark is reminded of her passion.
The 16-year-old eventing standout and Olympic hopeful is a junior at Barrington High School, where the school's mascots are horses -- fillies (girls) and broncos (boys).
Coincidental as this might be, it's also a little aggravating.
"There's only a few people at Barrington who know what eventing is," Lundmark said. "It's kind of hard to explain."
At every school pep rally, football and basketball game she attends, Cassidy Lundmark is reminded of her passion.
Despite gaining national recognition on the equestrian scene, Lundmark's accomplishments are virtually unknown at BHS.
"There are so many equestrian competitions that go on that the high school community is not even aware of," said her mother, Katrina Lundmark. "And these kids train just as hard on their horses as the (mainstream) high school athletes."
At the American Eventing Championships this weekend, Lundmark will compete at the Intermediate level against Olympians Karen O'Conner, Darren Chiacchia, John Williams, Hawley Bennett, Leslie Law and other international riders. She is the youngest in the division of more than 30 riders.
Lundmark, who began competing in eventing at the age of 6, has won a score of titles in the past decade, most notably, the Intermediate level of the Maui Jim CIC two-star level competition in July.
"A CIC two-star is an international level competition, the second highest level of competition internationally," American Eventing Championships communications director Amy Daum says.
Lundmark competes on two of her family's four horses. Shaker is a 14-year-old brown thoroughbred cross breed and Marley is a 4-year-old thoroughbred.
This weekend, she'll be riding Shaker.
"I'm always really excited as it gets closer to a competition," she said. "I do get nervous about the cross-country phase -- with all the jumping and obstacles -- something could go wrong, and there can be so many injuries."
For Lundmark, company helps quell a few nerves.
"I have a few friends from school coming to watch," she said. "It'll be great to see them in the crowd."