By Alex Slater

Many Winsor students find it difficult to find balance in their busy weekend schedules. Between seeing friends and doing homework, many have trouble fitting everything into a single weekend. For horseback rider, Jess Edlund ’14, this seemingly daunting task is even more difficult. She travels travels every weekend to either her barn in Annisquam, an hour-long drive from her house, or all over New England for competitions. She even missed UTL and Red Day this year in order to compete in Maclay Regionals, one of the most prestigious competitions for junior riders in the United States.

Jess started riding at the age of six and has not stopped since. She is able to jump an astonishing three feet six inches. She recently competed in Mass Finals for the third year in a row, and ranked 12th place out of 125. She is continuing on to compete in USEF Pessoa.  Jess hopes to go to a college with an equestrian team but is not going to make it a necessity in her school search.
This commitment is a lot not only for Jess, but also for her mother. Her mother drives Jess to all her competitions and practices. Jess remarks, “I am so grateful to my mom for everything…I just cannot imagine doing anything else with my time.” She also admits that the car rides have brought the two of them closer together. Riding has given Jess an appreciation for not just her mother, but for animals as well.  She knows that she will always want to be involved with horses in any way that she can in her future.