Every day's a Holiday when Young goes riding

By Mitch Gallo, October 31st, 2012

Beaconsfield's Alexis Young rides her horse Holiday out of Hodgson's barn in Hudson and recently won three gold medals and a silver medal at the equestrian games.
“It's not my greatest achievement because I won medals but because I set a goal and achieved it,” said Young. “I worked hard at it and it was gratifying to see the hard work pay off.”
Young, 16, was excited to inform her grandfather Miles Bullen, who is in a battle with colon cancer, about the accomplishment. He was one of her inspirations for getting on a horse in the first place.
“He was so pleased, it felt really good to be able to do that for him,” said Young. “He told me that we had a champion in our family now, and it felt really nice, he took all kinds of photos and was just really proud of me.”
When she was about seven-years-old, Young can remember her older sister Clara getting to ride as a birthday gift, which made her jealous. That in addition to the facts that she grew up worshipping Disney Princesses, had a grandfather who lived in Alberta who shared his riding stories with her, making for an easy match from a young age.
Fast-forward seven years and Young is riding in competitions, winning medals.
Her horse Holiday, is a black thoroughbred, which is best known for racing. Young has a strong bond with her horse although they don't always see eye-to-eye.
“He always thinks he's the best, he loves working and doing shows, I guess he kind of reminds me of a businessman being all professional,” said Young. “We are both very different, but we work hard to figure out our issues, it's almost like dealing with a real person.”
Young practices five to six times a week, through the winter, only taking off a couple of weeks for exams.
Along with her performance at the equestrian games, Young was given the A.E.R.S.O Glady's Reach Adam Memorial Trophy and the Athlete of the Year Greenhawk Hunting for 2012.
“I have to say thank you to Hodgson barn, they are the biggest reason I was able to compete so well, they really did an amazing job,” said Young. “They are amazing instructors and people and I want to keep ridding with them as long as I can.”
As far as the future is concerned, Young isn't sure, however ridding is something she wants to pursue as long as she possible can.
 “I don't know if it'll be a career but in the long run I've benefited from the experience already, I'm just going to have to wait and see.”