Blood, Sweat & High School: One Wellington Teen’s Determination To Be The Best Equitation Excellence
Equestrian sport is a total immersion endeavor. Early mornings, late nights, long days — a true passion for the horse usually is accompanied by a complete takeover of resources, from time and emotion to sanity and pocketbook. And this all or nothing mentality usually starts young, as it did for Wellington’s Xavier Gomez, a 16-year-old hunter jumper rider.
From his early years, Xavier was completely focused on horses, preferring toys, games, movies and more with an equestrian theme. Now a junior in high school and also pursuing a modeling career, his schedule still is all about horses, and this fall his determination to top the equitation divisions is what’s fueling the horsey hard work.
Equitation is a sport about the rider. Judges mark for position, fluidity, poise and effectiveness in the saddle over hunter and jumper style courses. The horse obviously adds to his rider’s flair by jumping with scope, accepting the aids, and moving with grace and precision. To attain a nationally successful level of equitation performance, many hours must be logged in the saddle.
Xavier’s routine reflects this level of dedication under the guidance of trainer Kobi Rhodes of Kobi’s Place Stables in Wellington. “We ride every morning, from Tuesday to Sunday,” he said. “Kobi places a lot of importance on quality flatwork, as well as over fences. If my horse or I am stiff in one direction, we do exercises to supple both of us so that we can jump and work together better.”
His full-time training schedule is beginning to pay some high dividends, as Xavier has had a number of wins and top placings in the summer equitation shows at the Global Dressage Festival showgrounds. These equitation wins propel him toward his current goal: the National Horse Show Equitation Finals.
The high school freshman is also enrolled in full-time classes in the afternoon, and of course, the global health crisis has complicated show and school schedules for everyone, from parents and teachers to kids and horse trainers. His father, Jose Gomez of Wellington Agricultural Services, said that feeding his son’s passion is worth every headache, late night and horse show.
“He truly loves what he does,” Jose said. “Finding a passion is so important, and Xavier’s lucky to have found his so young. I used to wonder why he only liked to play with horses when he was a toddler, why he insisted on riding any time we had the option. But it obviously wasn’t a phase, and he’s more into the horse game now than he ever has been.”
At home, Xavier splits his time between his mother’s and his father’s, who both live in Wellington. His younger brother, four-year-old Maximus, also seems to have been bit by the horse bug. The two regularly have rides together when Xavier isn’t perfecting his form over fences, and Max’s admiration of Xavier almost certainly means the family will have another equestrian in the show ring in a few years. In fact, Maximus has already won his fair share of leadline classes.
Stepping up from local equitation to the national championships is a big shift. The shows are bigger and more intense, the pressure is high, and hundreds of other young riders and the country’s top equitation horses are the competition.
Xavier’s equine partner Elios is an eight-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Michael Deitrich. Imported to the U.S. in the summer of 2019, Xavier and Elios spent the summer perfecting their chemistry here in Wellington before shipping out to Tryon and then Kentucky.
Xavier’s specific goal is the 3’6” Dover Hunt Seat Medal Final, as well as the Maclay Championship, two divisions that attract and groom some of the nation’s top young riders for success in the international show ring. Xavier and Elios won both the ASPCA Medal and Maclay at the ESP Summer III in late August, and they went on to win the Equitation Warm Up and finish 10th overall in the South East Regional Final during the ESP Florida State Fall & Region 3 ASPCA/NHSAA Maclay Championship show held Sept. 17-20 before heading to North Carolina for Octo-ber’s shows at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.
“Kentucky and the National Horse Show are our end goal for 2020,” Xavier said. “And then we start all over again with the Winter Equestrian Festival at home in January. Having that level of competition just a few miles from my barn is really amazing. It makes Wellington a very unique place to call home. It can be really challenging to ride, train, travel to shows and keep up with school work, but this is what I love to do, and being in the saddle every day makes it all worth it.”
