TRAVERSE CITY — For some, the search for a career takes a long time. But 16-year-old Estella Bonanni already knows what she wants to do — ride horses competitively.
Bonanni said has been doing that “since day one,” competing for the first time at the age of 5 on a pony named Stella.
“I think riding will always be a part of my life,” she said. “I’m looking into some colleges (where) I can get onto a riding team and get a scholarship.
“I have two more years before I graduate, but I’m trying to think about it early.”
Bonanni said a business degree will likely be the way to go because it would help her open her own barn, like the one she currently works for as a manager.
For now, the Traverse City resident said she splits her time between Michigan, Florida and wherever else her trainer — the coach in her barn — goes. She attends high school online to be able to participate in competitions during the week.
In the summer, she’s home at the Traverse City Horse Shows.
Being away from home for eight months of the year makes her miss her family sometimes, Bonanni said, but her biggest supporter still stays in touch: Her mom, Megan Bonanni.
“She’s an ER doctor on a 48-hour shift right now,” she said. “She works to pay for my stuff. If I did not have my mom, I would not be where I am in this sport.”
She’s not just leaving her mother when she goes to Florida — Bonanni is a middle child to five brothers. She said it can be hard to leave sometimes, but it’s not always bad to escape the noise.
Bonanni and her mother both work to pay for her passion, and for good reason: Everything the riders need, from helmet to boots, is expensive.
“The pants alone are $400, which is crazy,” she said. “The boots are $1,000 and the helmets are around $600.”
Living in two states and working full-time means Bonanni has to go to school online, a challenge she underestimated at first.
“I started online my freshman year, and I didn’t do so well at first,” she said. “I set aside time to do my classes, usually on Mondays, because we have those off. It’s hard to come back from a full day at the barn and do school. When I get home late, sometimes all I can do is shower and go to bed.”
Bonanni said she’s doing well now; finishing up her sophom*ore year and focusing on competing.
The Traverse City Horse Shows are in their 10th year, Marketing Director Gary Howe said. Each summer, 13 weeks of competition attract athletes from 25 countries. Flintfields Horse Park, where the shows take place, comprises 130 acres with seven show rings.
“It gets bigger every year,” Howe said. “This year, we have about 4,000 athletes coming over the whole summer.”
One technique Bonanni applies in her work is to bond with the horse she’s riding — something not every rider does. When she’s in the Imperial Show Stables Team barn caring for her horse, that connection is obvious as the horse affectionately nuzzles her cheek.
The bond can be seen as Bonanni practices with Lilly Pezy preparing for competition. They go through a series of exercises in a practice ring sometimes twice a day. If they aren’t jumping, this is called “flatting.”
As they work out together they become closely synced, performing as a single unit.
“The horses can tell when you’re nervous and they don’t do as well,” Bonanni said. “It’s hard, but I have to try not to be nervous.”
Nervous or not, she’s a competitor and she likes to win. Her biggest win was four years ago at a team competition for junior riders.
She and her horse Lilly Pezy, a mare she described as “feisty,” were on a team that won the gold cup for a $15,000 prize.
“I’m definitely an adrenaline junkie,” Bonanni said. “After a good round, when you know you’ve won, it feels incredible.”
She’ll be in the High Juniors competition again this July, competing with and against riders from around the world for another gold cup.
Even when it’s just one horse and one rider in the ring, it’s still a team sport, Howe said.
“I think I’ll probably do this forever; I can’t imagine not doing it,” Bonanni said.
This story was produced in partnership with WCMU Public Media.
