San Marcos junior Kira Plymire will be spending this weekend under the tutelage of Olympic gold-medalist Melanie Smith Taylor, the reward for being one of the select few chosen for the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program, which develops promising young equestrians.
“It’s a huge honor to have her instruction on my riding,’ said Plymire, who will be jumping 1.1-meter courses on a horse named Seven of Nine.
Plymire is one of 24 riders selected from the region, which includes California, Oregon and Nevada. The 16-year-old has been riding since she was two.
“I was really surprised because the application process was really last-minute for me,” Plymire said. “I was really honored when I was chosen and unbelievably excited.”
The program, sponsored by the United States Hunter Jumper Association, includes riding instruction as well as in-class studies that are evaluated with a program-ending exam. The top-5 riders of the 24 will move on to a second level of evaluation, followed by one more level at the national level. The eventual winner will receive a large grant that will help pay for the expensive development of an equestrian athlete.
Seven of Nine is a Hanovarian gelding owned by trainers Dacia and Mario Inperato out of Stepping Stone Sporthorses in Temecula. Plymire will be riding Seven of Nine throughout the summer in a variety of events past this weekend, including spending time at the Oaks Blenheim Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano in June.
