Interview

Prospective Olympian

Morgan Shields

Q.  What is your name age and tell me little about your family?

A.  My name is Morgan Shields and I am going to be eleven in one more month.  I live outside the village of Lansdowne on 49 acres with my mom, dad, and Caleb, my five year old brother.  We have a cat, three dogs and three horses.

Q.  When did you first start to ride horses and how many times a week do you ride?

A.  I was five years old and I started taking lessons at the Charleston Lake Riding School just up the road from my house.  I now take two lessons a week and I get to ride at home in my own field when I want to.  My dad and I made jumps for me to practice on and they are very colorful and my granny says that they look great. 

Q.  Who is your riding instructor and what interesting things happen during your lessons?

A.  My teacher is Wendy Waller and she is from England, but she has taught in other countries before here.  She is a very good teacher and she is very funny.  Sometimes when she catches me cutting the corners in the arena or you don’t do the lesson the right way she will say something like, “Morgan, is there a dinosaur in the corner?”  And then she says “You owe me a chocolate bar”.

Q.  Tell me a little bit about your horse and what he is like?

A.  He is an 8 year old Arabian named Billy, but his show name is, “Billionaire”.  He is a light bay colored horse and is about 14.2 hands.  My mom and dad bought him for me this year and he is very good and friendly. 

Q.  What kind of riding do you want to do in the future?

A.  I want to do, "Eventing", which is Jumping, Dressage, and a Cross-country riding competition that goes on for three days.

Q.  Who are some of your favorite riders?

A.  Some of my favorites are Jill Henslewood, Ian Miller, Mac Cone, Mario D, and Eric Lamaze.  I went to the Royal Winter Fair this year with my family and I had my picture taken with Jill, Ian and Eric and I also have some of their autographs too.

Q.  Does anyone else in your family ride or are they involved in horse events, such as Pony Club?

A.  My mom takes lessons and so does my five year old brother.  Mom rides with a group of ladies and she works in our pony club with all our activities.  This year our Pony Club went to Brockville and put on a special gaming preshow for the RCMP musical ride.  An officer was killed and his family lived in Brockville  and they wanted to do something special to honor him.  My whole family is involved with horses some how.  My mom and dad and me go to the different riding competitions in our area and we work hard and have fun too.