Windermere Prep Junior, Texie Loyd an Equestrian Champion

Last weekend, one of our junior Lakers, Texie Loyd, tested her prowess in an equestrian competition and placed at the top! Out of 116 competitors, Lexie finished in third place, including the top rider in the 16-year-old group, while also having her horse awarded Best Horse for grooming and conditioning. This amazing accomplishment and the discipline and hard work that it took to get there are a testament to the outstanding student-athlete embodied in Texie.

As a lifelong Laker, Texie has been a WPS student since PreK3. Interestingly, she also began her riding career at the age of three. The sport has been a family affair, and for as long as she can remember, she has had family members riding and competing. When asked what keeps her going in the sport, she said that she has always had dreams for what her future career will be like with riding. Of the sport, she said that there are riders well into their 60s who keep pushing themselves, and she can see herself having that type of longevity as well. 

The demands of the sport require a great deal of practice and commitment. While there may be misconceptions about the difficulty with training for the sport, Texie wants to assure everyone that there is a great deal of exhaustive physical conditioning included. This sport is not one for the faint of heart. The biggest challenge Texie said she has is that she is not able to practice every day. The location has a big impact on her practice schedule since he practices in Wellington, FL and other times in Kentucky. Overall, the balancing act that she plays between the sport and school has been quite impressive.

When asked about her academic course choices, Texie remarked that she intentionally chose to pursue the IB Certificate option because it matched what she wanted to experience with school and allowed her to pursue her passion. She emphasized that choosing passion and then aligning academics to it is highly important. Texie researched NCAA schools for riding and saw that their requirements did not expect students to complete the full IB Diploma Program. Ultimately, she would love to compete for Southern Methodist University (SMU). As a result, she chose to push herself in academics while also pushing herself with riding. 

I asked Texie if there is anything else that she wants the WPS community to know. Her response: “WPS teachers have been amazing. They have always been so nice about me missing school. My teachers and trainers encourage me to stay with it, which makes the accomplishments worth it. My friends support me as well. It’s nice that people support me even though they don’t see me compete, and I appreciate it.”