Photo courtesy of Jeremy Villar via Craig Stephens.
Mountain Brook residents Stirling, left, and Sloan Stephens are up-and-coming equestrians who attend Brookwood Forest Elementary School.
Not much separates Sloan and Stirling Stephens.
The fraternal twin sisters are fifth-graders at Brookwood Forest Elementary School who share a love of riding horses.
The up-and-coming equestrians began riding about three and a half years ago after a family friend connected them with Kenan Ashurst, a Mountain Brook resident who owns a farm in Leeds called GKM Equestrian.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever because you got to ride an animal,” Sloan said.
The sisters have been riding at GKM ever since and in September competed at their first regional competition, the Southeast Schooling Show Championships in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. Both sisters did well, with Stirling placing first in her three-phase event and Sloan placing third in her dressage test.
“For us, it’s not about ribbons,” said Jenna Stephens, the twins’ mom. “It’s more about the fact that they might be scared to death or they might be nervous, but they do it anyway because they push themselves and they learn all these other life skills.”
The sisters had to qualify for the regional competition and log eight volunteer hours at a horse barn in order to compete. Craig Stephens, the twins’ dad, said their participation in the event was about a year in the making.
“That was the largest show they’ve been to,” Jenna Stephens said.
During horse shows, Sloan competes in stadium jumping and dressage, while Stirling competes in both of those plus cross-country. Her event is called three phase.
“Cross-country is where you ride out in a big field, and the jumps are solid, so if you hit a jump, you and your horse both get hurt,” Stirling said.
The sisters typically ride at their farm three days per week and enter five to six competitions per year. They entered their first show about nine months after they started riding.
“It’s a good family activity,” Craig Stephens said. “We all have a role: They ride, I transport, and [Jenna] acquires all the equipment.”
Sloan and Stirling are both animal lovers and ride their own ponies. Sloan’s is named Stardust, and Stirling’s is named Marco.
It is up to the sisters to ensure their ponies are taken care of.
“The farm where they ride puts a lot of focus on teaching a rider how to care for a horse, not just ride a horse,” Jenna Stephens said, “so they’ve learned a lot about equine health and maintenance of their horse.”
Most shows take place between March and November, so the sisters are currently on a break. Their parents said the sport has been a great teaching tool, developing traits such as empathy, responsibility, independence and composure.
They labeled it a “wholesome” activity.
“We like that it’s unplugged, it’s away from devices,” Jenna Stephens said. “It’s a really good outlet for them, and it’s been great to watch them learn how to care for their animals and develop a love for doing that, and they’ve developed a sense of community out there with other riders.”
