By Anna Sochocky
Portraits by Kristie Scholten
The first time Genevieve Munson’s father placed her on the back of Renegade, the family pony, she screamed and howled like a wild banshee. Genevieve’s outbursts came not from being put on the small equine, but when her father tried to remove his daughter from the saddle. “I started riding before I could walk,” Genevieve said. “I was 4 years old when I knew I wanted to ride professionally.”
Genevieve is quick to note that younger sister Michaela soon followed in her hoof prints. “By age 3, Michaela was asking people to help her tack up one of our small ponies. I was a bit more independent, but by the time the baby of the family arrives, there’s a bit more help,” Genevieve said.
Today, both Genevieve, age 20, and Michaela, 14, are fixtures on the show jumping circuit. Genevieve placed first and second in the $30,000 Tribute Grand Prix at the Wilmington’s Winter in the Midwest in 2023 and won the 1.45m national Grand Prix at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center Winter Series 3 in Katy, Texas, last February. Michaela posted wins in the $10,000 1.30m Cabo Bob’s Jumper Classic during the Great Southwest Equestrian Center Winter Series in 2023 and dual victories in the $15,000 Horseflight Jumper Classic and the $5,000 Pyranha Junior/Amateur 1.35m Jumper Classic at HITS Chicago in June. And both girls are on track for more.
Homegrown Opportunities
The Munson sisters’ story begins not on the sand in Florida or the rolling hills of Massachusetts, but on a 50-acre farm deep in the northwestern corner of rural Arkansas. “I definitely had a much different experience than my classmates growing up,” Genevieve said. “I didn’t really have neighbors. I had friends from school, but most of the time, I was with my friends from the barn, so most activities included things that happened on the horse farm. I definitely had a unique upbringing.”
The girls’ paternal grandfather was a veterinarian who passed on his interest in horses to the next generation of the Munson family. When Genevieve’s parents bought the family’s 50-acre farm, which is now the Rogers Equestrian Center, she was barely a year old. Genevieve’s older siblings went off to college, got married and now live what she calls ‘normal lives.’
The family never had a recognized trainer on the farm, but pieced together a homegrown education. “My dad always made a point early on that we would travel to get a better education. We figured it out as we went, and my dad was supportive, always finding a way to make whatever goal I had set happen,” Genevieve said.
Both Genevieve and Michaela credit their father for being central to success. Five a.m. starts, 10-hour drives, or watching his daughters debate over how to approach a jump-off are simply parts of his role. “Dad has always helped us. He always finds a way to help us get to where we want to go,” Michaela said.
As a budding competitor, Genevieve absorbed clinics and trainers’ lessons like a sponge, returning to the farm to implement what she learned. Traveling allowed the family to develop an impressive book of contacts with tailored information about training methods and lessons learned. “Because I heard different opinions and voices, I went home and workshopped myself. I think you retain more information that way,” Genevieve said.
The homegrown education began paying off early. Claiming the USEF Pony Jumper Championship at the age of 10, Genevieve became the youngest rider to win the trophy in the championship’s history. Over the years, Genevieve’s skill and networking prowess caught the eye of top-ranked trainers and riders, and many have invested in the making of Genevieve, including Matt Cyphert, who excels at course strategy, and Linda Allen, who has been a global advisor since 2015.
However, life took a sharp turn when Genevieve won the USHJA Horsemanship National Quiz Challenge, and the opportunity of a lifetime came knocking. A Facebook message from Brooke Mallin, a board member of the quiz challenge, said she knew of a prominent person in the industry on the hunt for a rider to come to Europe to work. Was Genevieve interested?
Opportunities move as fast as a jump-off round, and Genevieve found herself on the phone with veteran U.S. show jumper and trainer Katie Prudent. Genevieve flew to Virginia a day later to meet Katie and her Plain Bay team. Within a month, Genevieve filled the coveted position based at Rosières-aux-Salines, France, under the watchful eyes of Katie Prudent and Hunter Hawk.
Genevieve’s days started early in the French countryside. Feeding and cleaning stalls for an ever-changing rotation of horses, Genevieve demonstrated a work ethic that matched her competition commitment. A scheduled five-month stint stretched to more than a year, beginning in the summer of 2022 and ending in the fall of 2023.
“You can’t put a price or value on my time with Katie and Hunter; it was completely unexpected,” Genevieve said. “I’m still using the tools I gained in France on a day-to-day basis. The networking opportunities I had while I was in France and Belgium don’t happen every day. I could talk for hours and not explain everything that happened while I was there and the experiences I had. I learned so much about my own riding, training young horses, preparing horses to show, and caring for the horses in the barn, making sure they were prepped, comfortable and happy.”
Whether Genevieve’s year was her equivalent to college, two semesters in trade school or a gap year, the time spent opened more doors—doors the now-20-year-old professional willingly walked through with her sister, Michaela, close behind.
A Social Butterfly
While Genevieve describes herself as selectively social, she notes that her younger sister, Michaela, is the quintessential social butterfly of the Munson family. Homeschooled and the Pied Piper of the local Pony Club, Michaela never passes up an opportunity to make a new friend. “Our dad calls her the Pied Piper because all the children at the farm follow her around with their little heads bobbing, waiting to do whatever Michaela asks them to do,” Genevieve said.
While Genevieve attended traditional school until the sixth grade before switching to lessons on the road, Michaela was completely homeschooled. “I never felt a void. I’ve always had friends at the barn, whether riding with me or coming for a lesson,” Michaela said. “We hike, ride or teach summer camp. We’re always outside. We have lessons going every day except Sundays.”
At 14, Michaela has already carved out her own place as a jumper, trainer and catch rider. Michaela embraced the path established by her older sister but nurtures relationships of her own, notably with trainers Emily Elek and Linda Allen. “I have a few ponies at home right now from Michaela Kennedy that I’m working with, and I used to catch ride a lot for Emily Elek. In 2020, I had four of her ponies qualify for Pony Finals,” Michaela said.
Recently, USHJA President Britt McCormick had a horse that needed to be schooled. “He called Dad, wondering if I was still at the barn. I went over and schooled with Britt. I’ve always wanted to ride with him,” Michaela said.
Genevieve and her father say that Michaela lives on island time. Michaela’s pace may be slower—and she may stop for an ice cream—but the youngest Munson sister gets things done. Following in Genevieve’s well-worn footsteps is a path Michaela embraces without reservation. “I’ve always looked up to Gen. I’ve always wanted to ride like her, ride the horse she’s riding or ride with whom she’s riding. I’m hoping that I can take the same trail that she’s going on and be there for her and help her reach her goals,” Michaela said.
Michaela inherited Charlene, aka Charli, a 16-year-old Holsteiner, from Genevieve and taught the mare with a princess personality to do tricks for treats. While the majority of Michaela’s experience in the saddle has been with Charlene, under Genevieve’s direction she has accumulated more miles on Nigel, a 16-year-old Hanoverian named Contendro Star, on the winter circuit.
“Nigel really helped Michaela get her hands off the brake,” Genevieve said. “She was nervous jumping higher fences and was a little tight in her hands. Riding Nigel helped her learn how to open up a horse’s stride. She does so well in the hunter ring, but she learned how to connect the dots and how to be faster in the jump-offs with Nigel. He has been a really cool tool for her.”
Back to the Future
On Genevieve’s side of the barn, Genevieve describes her Grand Prix jumper Zonderling, aka Joey, as quirky, impatient and known for
minor mishaps—until misfortune struck, threatening to
end their partnership. On a trip from Florida home to Arkansas, Joey tried to jump out the trailer escape door and sustained multiple injuries.
Prior to the accident, the team had amassed top wins including a pair of team silver medals at the Neue Schule/USEF Prix Des States Junior Jumper National Championships in 2019 and capturing the 2021 $50,000 HITS Chicago Grand Prix at the Lamplight Spring Spectacular. After addressing a significant cut on his chest, removal of part of his sternum, scar tissue and injections in his front pasterns, Genevieve and Joey returned to the show ring earlier this year winning the 1.45m National Grand Prix at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center Winter Series 3 in Katy, Texas, and following it up with back-to-back wins at HITS Chicago in the $20,000 Alliant Private Client Cup and the $35,000 CWD Grand Prix in June.
Coming up the ranks of Grand Prix with Joey has been important to Genevieve, but it was the first class she jumped after the injury and recovery that remains imprinted on her mind. “I was in a 1.20m class and remember smiling from ear to ear the entire round because he finally felt like himself again,” she said. “I had my partner back. I don’t know how long we’re going to have him—he’s 20 years old and still has the desire to compete at the higher levels of the sport. I definitely take each round more to heart because I don’t know how many more I’ll get.”
No matter what the future holds, both Genevieve and Michaela are enjoying the ever-evolving journey—and the support that has gotten them there. “One thing I’ve learned over the years is appreciating the different seasons of people in your life, and appreciating the different seasons of horses,” Genevieve said. “I’ve always had a fast-paced life. A good friend of mine taught me to take a breath and look at the sky and appreciate how beautiful the day is today. I’ve learned to recognize all the moments that are available to us.”
For more information, visit Rogers Equestrian Center, www.rogersequestrian.org
Photos by Kristie Scholten, kristiescholten.com
