Valley Christian School: Carilynn White is galloping toward her future, probably on horseback

Valley Christian senior Carilynn White spends a lot of her spare time on a horse and has been competing in Western dressage since the fifth grade. She hopes to turn her passion into a career by becoming a dressage instructor.

White has been attending Valley Christian for years, partly because her father teaches there. But White said she’s also there because she likes getting a Christian education, where she can pursue God and an education at the same time.

She started riding in the third grade and quickly transitioned to small, local competitions at the fairgrounds. The word dressage means training, and Western dressage is all about the training of the horse and rider, White said.

“You take tests to see what you and your horse have learned,” she said.

White rides at Relational Riding Academy, which uses donated and rescued horses. Although White has spent nearly her entire life on horseback, she doesn’t own a horse. She’s the barn’s “catch” rider, White said. “I ride whatever they put in front of me,” she said.

As riders get more advanced, they are usually assigned a particular horse, White said. She has mostly competed with a quarter horse named Scarlet, though she also rides an American Warmblood named Wonder. “I think my instructor plans on me showing both this year,” she said.

White completes in the handful of live Western dressage shows available in Washington each year, often only two or three. Other competitions are virtual, with riders submitting unedited video of the required elements. “Dressage tests are basically patterns,” she said. “You get a reader that tells you what to do.”

White previously competed at Level 2 and has attended national and world championship competitions, where she has placed in the top 10 in her category several times. This year, she has advanced to Level 3 in Western dressage, where the “big names” compete, White said.

Although she likes competing, what she likes more is how riders support each other, White said. “I like that people come together,” she said. “You can make friends from all over. I like doing my best on my horse and I like the atmosphere around it.”

Teacher Jessica Kenlein-Burns said White has impressed her with her conscientiousness and thoroughness in the classroom. “She’s very determined and very responsible,” Kenlein-Burns said. “She has a very dry sense of humor.”

Kenlein-Burns said she’s aware of White’s work in the show ring but confesses she doesn’t know much about dressage. “I just know she’s really good at it,” she said.

White said she has considered continuing her education to earn a degree in equine management and/or business, but she hasn’t made a decision yet. “Right now, college and I are undecided,” she said.

The one thing she is certain about is her desire to become a dressage instructor. “I’ve already taught little kids at beginner level, and that’s a lot of fun,” she said.