Good Morning POU!
Today we feature women of color in Equestrian Sports.
On March 22 2015, Paige Johnson recorded a milestone victory in the $127,000 Engel & Volkers Grand Prix at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
Johnson, 29, of Wellington and Middleburg, Va., became the first black American to win a major grand prix in WEF history. Johnson and her 12-year-old Belgian warmblood mare Dakota clinched the four-rider jump-off with the fastest clear round of 47.47 seconds and pocketed $41,910, her biggest paycheck in show jumping.
Johnson finished ahead of her trainer of three years, Kent Farrington and 9-year-old Belgian warmblood mare Gazelle, the only other clear team in 47.95.
Johnson, the daughter of BET founders Robert and Sheila Johnson, has been a competitive rider since she was 5, training in Florida and Virginia. She also won the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup this season.
“I came into this circuit hoping to win a WEF and I did that week six,” Paige Johnson said. “My next goal was to win a grand prix. I had no idea it would happen the same season. You can imagine that I am super excited and happy. Kent is my trainer, so it feels like the hard work, the team and everything around us is really paying off and that is a great feeling.”
At the age of seven, Paige fell in love with horses after watching the cartoon “My Little Pony.” Soon after, she started taking lessons and has been showing ever since. “There’s something so magical about horses that captured my attention. They truly are magnificent creatures who allow us to do so much with them,” Paige says. “My love for horses grows stronger every year. I appreciate everything they do for us emotionally and competitively.”
Her love for animals doesn’t stop at horses; she is a huge lover of all animals. Paige is also a voice for children: She hosts awareness and fundraising events for HomeSafe charity, which advocates for underprivileged children who are victims of abuse.
Paige attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study fashion design, but after a year her passion for horses got the best of her and she decided to pursue riding full time. Currently, Paige competes on an international level in Grand Prix, open jumper and high amateur divisions and trains with renowned show jumping riders Kent Farrington and legendary Olympian Joe Fargis.
Mavis Spencer
Mavis Spencer, born on June 13th, 1991, is a nationally ranked equestrian.
She is a very accomplished show jumper who won the Silver Medal at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (2009) on a borrowed horse named Jencoyeh. However, most of her brilliant performances have been astride her own equally talented 11 year old Belgian Warmblood mare, Winia Van’t Vennehof.
According to JustWorldInternational , “Mavis Spencer began riding with coaches Dick Carvin and Susie Schroer in 2000. Under their tutelage, Mavis has advanced from the three-foot equitation division to competing in the 2008 Adequan/ USEF National Junior Jumper Championship in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she won Team and Individual Silver medals and was honored with the William C. Steinkraus Style of Riding Award.” She also participated in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, Australia.
Mavis began her equestrian career at age five, riding with Judge My Ride’s own Rob Gage. Mavis has impressively secured positions on several US Young Riders teams amid a vastly competitive field and won several national awards:
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4th Team, Australian Youth Olympic Festival, Sydney, AUS
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1st High Jr./Am.-Owner Champion, Sacramento International, CA Winia van’t Vennehof
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1st $25,000 High Jr./Am.-Owner Classic, Sacramento International, CA
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Winia van’t Vennehof William C. Steinkraus Style of Riding Award, Harrisburg, PA
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Silver Individual, USEF National Junior Jumper Championship, Harrisburg, PA
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Winia van’t Vennehof Silver Team, USEF National Junior Jumper Championship, Harrisburg, PA
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Winia van’t Vennehof 1st USEF Show Jumping Talent Search, Showpark Summer Classic, CA
Mavis is the daughter of actress Alfre Woodard and writer/producer Roderick Spencer.
Uneku Saliu-Atawodi
Uneku Saliu-Atawodi wears her crown well. The first female black professional polo player on the international stage represents her native Abujua, Nigeria by giving back through her charity, Ride to Shine. She regularly spends time with orphans, teaching them riding techniques, and raising money for their education trust funds so they can achieve their dreams of being “doctors, lawyers, [and] football players.”
The 25-year-old knows all to well what it feels like to be a child with a dream. Atawodi started out cleaning the horse stables and today, she’s the first and only black female professional polo player in the world.
“The world is fast becoming more and more globalized, and traveling around the world and living on my own from 14, playing polo in beautiful countries in the corners of the world from 16, that really helped me to attain a globalized view way before my time,” she offers.
Asked “How does it feel being in a male-dominated sport; and, have you ever been discriminated against in terms of race or gender?” Uneku responds:
Funny story. I was playing in Argentina some years back, and we were donning team colours – yellow and blue or something. This British lady who had been staring at me, came up to me with a yellow top in her hands, and so I asked her, “what colour am I?” She gave me the yellow top and replied, “You are black.” Then she realized what she had said and she was mortified: “I am so sorry! I meant yellow… I meant you are playing in yellow.” She apologized repeatedly and later told me that it was not because I was black, but because she was so shocked to see a black girl playing, and that it was the first time she had ever seen that. I have never experienced racial discrimination in polo; polo is such an international sport, and I find that players treat each other like family. What I do get after a game though, is a surprised, “oh wow, you are really good!” because most people see me and expect me to be some awful beginner. I don’t complain though because it gives me an advantage in the first few chukkers of a game, with me being completely unmarked, a few goals later, and the game play changes. I remember, I am the only female Polo player to have gone professional in West Africa and the only active black female player worldwide.