Micah is an equestrian from Florida who has been riding horses his entire life. As a child, his parents allowed him to take birthday pony rides and for one birthday they even rented two ponies for rides in their backyard. Eventually this evolved into regular riding lessons, first Western then English because Micah wanted to learn how to jump. His show career began in 2015 in a crossrails division where he was pinned grand champion.
“It gave me a tremendous boost. I knew I was capable of excelling in that field.”
Micah is considering a move to Texas to continue his education in the equine field after graduating from University of Florida in 2022. He is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science with an Equine focus. He knows that whatever the future holds, he wants to make a career in the equine industry.
“As an African American male, this sport isn’t something that’s necessarily in my field. My friends didn’t exactly bully me, but they would tease me for riding “My Little Ponies” and would call me ‘the horse boy.’ This sport is something that is seen as feminine and people would always say to me, ‘you should be playing basketball,’ or ‘you should be playing football.’”
Micah persevered in following his passion and is currently able to continue riding as part of his college equestrian team. He dreams of making a move up to jumping and competing at a higher level at the top horse shows and making an unforgettable appearance in the rings at HITS or WEC.
“I won’t win every horse show, I know that. But being an African American male in a predominantly female and predominantly white sport, I am leaving an impact in every arena I ride in.”
