[ad_1]

Kasey Losik grew up around horses.

She also grew up focused on competing.

It is what made her a 20-goal scorer for the Saugatuck soccer team, leading the Trailblazers to their first ever district title.

But Losik has a sport she is even better at. She put her love of horses and love of competition together and is competing in equestrian at Mississippi State.

“My mom introduced me to horses. She has had a passion for horses her whole life. When I was born, we had some. When I was 3, I told them I wanted a horse my size and they got me a pony named Cinnamon and that is where it started,” Losik said. “Middle school, I started doing some bigger competitions.”

Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage

More: ON THE ATTACK: Kasey Losik a scoring force for Saugatuck’s best team in history

Losik is a Level 2 competitor and hopes to make it to Level 3 this year. She competes in the horsemanship and ranch riding categories.

“It is split into English and Western. I compete in horsemanship, ranch riding and reining. They all have to do with patterns and maneuvers. We do competitions with other schools,” she said.

Road competitions are more interesting thatn Losik expected. Most road competitions do not see the teams bring their own horses, so a new experience and bond has to happen pretty quickly.

“It is interesting. Sometimes we bring horses, but a lot of times, you draw a horse our of a hat because of travel. That is very interesting.

You get on, get up and compete and then you are done,” she said.

But Losik’s background has made her more equipped to deal with new horses.

“When I was younger, I had lots of exposure to riding different horses. I put a couple of first rides on some young horses,” she said. “When it comes to competing, it is easier to hop on a random horse and do a good job. I feel like I have the ability to get on a horse and understand how it operates and get the most out of what the animal is capable of.”

That happened in a competition at Auburn, Losik’s biggest performance of her freshman season.

“I had a really special moment in Auburn. I won high point rider for the whole competition. As a freshman, that is kind of unheard of, especially riding random horses. It wasn’t just the winning, but my teammates just made me feel so special. That was a really good day,” she said.

Losik is hoping for more days like that this year.

“I should be able to have enough points to qualify for the highest division, which allows me to compete at regionals. Nationals is the ultimate goal with the best riders in the country,” she said. “I really didn’t know what to expect as a freshman. You have to have 36 to get to regionals and I had 34. I was really close as a freshman. I will get the opportunity to compete in the next division.”

Meanwhile, when she isn’t in the saddle, Losik is an architecture major.

“I needed a profession with everything I had a passion for — math, science, history and arts and design. You need all of that for architecture. There are many outlets, sustainability or affordable housing, the possibilities are endless,” Losik said. “We visited and it was a very good fit. I had a tryout for the team and so many things just pointed to Mississippi State. It just felt right.”

 — Contact Sports Editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.

Adblock test (Why?)

[ad_2]

Source link