By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kacy Brown
Sophia Schults can’t remember a time when she wasn’t obsessed with animals and horses. Sophia fell in love with horses the minute she discovered what they were, and by the time she rode her first pony at age 3, she was hooked.
Beginning her journey at a local 4-H barn, Sophia’s infatuation with horses and the sport has continued to grow over the years. Today, Sophia is a professional dressage rider at Hampton Green Farms in Ocala, Florida.
Although her family had no prior connections to horses, they were all in when Sophia discovered her passion at an early age. “I was extremely fortunate to have a very supportive father and family who indulged my obsession and would bring me out to the barn every day after school and on the weekends. In true barn rat fashion, I’d get dropped off at the barn first thing in the morning and stay all day,” Sophia said.
Kacy Brown Photography
Ocala, Florida’s Equestrian Photographer
Pattern Change
While a part of 4-H from ages 5 to 12, Sophia was introduced to both reining and dressage at the community’s Berrien County Youth Fair. Sophia quickly found herself drawn to the technicality of both disciplines.
“One thing that sticks with me from my reining youth is to ride accurately and give horses the room to be themselves. As reining is done on a loose rein, it forces you as the rider to be totally in tune with your seat and leg to show the horse what you would like them to do. When you’re going towards a sliding stop, you have to trust that when you sit back in the saddle, your horse is going to do it without you having any contact on the reins at all,” Sophia said. “As someone who wants to be able to micromanage every moment of my dressage rides, sometimes giving the rein and completely trusting my horse is exactly what I have to remind myself to do.”
Sophia happily competed in reining and dressage at the local level until she was 11 years old. “My father sat me down and told me that I had to choose which discipline I wanted to pursue. I opted for dressage. From the beginning, I’ve been drawn to the precision, technicality and harmony that exist in dressage,” she said.
Watching the 2012 Olympics influenced Sophia’s decision to choose the dressage path. “I remember watching the freestyles and having goosebumps, dreaming that maybe one day that could be me. The feeling I had as an observer is one I try to chase every single ride,” Sophia said.
Shortly after committing to dressage, Sophia participated in her first USDF show in Traverse City, Michigan, aboard her horse Zealand. It was a precursor of trips to come, as Sophia would participate in multiple FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) at the same venue. “Zealand took me to my first NAYC at age 14. He was an incredibly kind soul who was forgiving of my mistakes and held my hand when I needed it,” she said. “I then got my first medal at NAYC as a young rider with Farley in 2017, when we were part of the silver-medal-winning team. It’s a memory that still gives me chills today.”
Kacy Brown Photography
Ocala, Florida’s Equestrian Photographer
Dressage Dreams
When Sophia was 13 years old, she was introduced to Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids (D4K) program by the barn manager, Lisa Oles, at Concord Ridge Equestrian Center. The mission of D4K is to provide education and competitive opportunities for youth riders interested in dressage.
Sophia participated in her first clinic at Hampton Green Farm and took part in Lendon’s Winter Intensive Training program that following season in 2015. The connections gained from being part of D4K led Sophia to meet Kim Van Kampen. Sophia then had the opportunity to be a working student at Williams Dressage LLC with George, Roberta and Noel Williams in the winter of 2016. “Working at Williams Dressage was instrumental in shaping who I am today,” Sophia said. “It was a dream to work for them and I learned such an incredible amount over that winter season that I will always be thankful for.”
The following season, Sophia began working for Hampton Green as a working student, and she’s still there today. Sophia credits Hampton Green’s head trainer, Maria Lithander, with having a profound impact on her growth not only as an equestrian, but also as a person. “Maria’s attention to detail and skill with the development of young horses and people has given me so many tools that are always in the forefront of my mind,” she said.
In 2018, Sophia had a breakout performance when she won the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final 14-18 aboard Samour M. “Winning the equitation final felt like a fever dream. I had no real expectations going into that final, as my horse had a slight tendency to be a little fruity so I wasn’t sure how he was going to handle everything. There was a moment while we were waiting to do our patterns after the group phase of the class where I thought I was going to get bucked off as his patience was wearing thin, but we were able to pull everything together for a wonderful result,” she said. “Participating in equitation classes as a younger rider was crucial to the development of my seat and position. I’m very thankful to my coaches who pushed me to do them.”
While dancing in the show ring with Samour and others, Sophia was hard at work with her Conocido HGF, aka Conan. Their partnership began on August 3, 2016, when Sophia was 15 and Conan was 4 years old. “Exactly eight years later, on August 3, 2024, we got the bronze medal in the U25 Freestyle at NAYC,” she said.
“Conan’s the first horse I’ve been fortunate to have a long partnership with and have learned to train from the beginning. When we started together, I hadn’t ridden a young horse before and didn’t have much of a clue what I was doing. I’ve heard stories about how many top horses have a certain ‘spice’ to them, and Conan is no exception,” Sophia said. “At our first show together, when he was 5 years old, we were eliminated because he was so spooky we couldn’t get around the arena.”
Rather than get discouraged, Sophia used that experience to become more patient with developing a young horse. “He’s an incredibly hard worker with the heart of a lion. That was the pulse that kept us going. He’s taught me to be a better trainer and person. Together we went from elimination at that first show to the U25 classes,” she said. “The lessons that I’ve learned from him and skills I’ve acquired as a result have helped with every other horse I ride.”
Kacy Brown Photography
Ocala, Florida’s Equestrian Photographer
Sharing the Dream
After graduating from University of Phoenix with a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing in the fall of 2021, Sophia decided it was time to make the leap and become a professional for Hampton Green. “I started online school in the seventh grade all the way through graduating from college, while also working full time as a working student. That allowed me to travel and work wherever an opportunity was while still continuing my education,” Sophia said. “I would work all day then stay up all night studying. As a result, I was able to graduate from college in 26 months.”
Since starting at Hampton Green in 2016, when she was 15, Sophia’s role has gradually changed from working student to one of their riders/assistant trainers/barn managers at age 23. “Since I was 12 years old, I’ve wanted to be a dressage professional. I’m so lucky to be able to follow my dreams by having this amazing position with a wonderful team of people who have come to be like family to me,” Sophia said.
Sophia believes having the opportunity to compete at NAYC for multiple years as a Junior, Young Rider and now in the U25 classes has been instrumental in her development as a young professional. “There are times when dressage can feel like a solo sport, but events like NAYC remind me how wrong that is. The connections I’ve been able to make through years of participating in these events have been so important,” she said.
At her last two NAYCs, 2022 and 2024, and the 2024 Festival of Champions, Sophia rode Conan. “I never would have thought we would make it there and I couldn’t have asked for a better dance partner. Being able to stand on the podium at NAYC multiple times—2022 Young Rider team gold, 2022 Young Rider bronze freestyle, 2024 U25 bronze Grand Prix and freestyle—knowing how much we had to work through to get there was sublime,” Sophia said. “I will cherish that feeling forever.”
Looking towards the future, Sophia hopes to have many more podium finishes in the U25 division and make her way to the big tour. “This coming season, I hope to keep campaigning Conan with the aspiration of representing the U.S. on a Nations Cup team in the future,” she said.
In addition to Conan, Sophia’s currently working with two exciting horses, Didacus and Borbon HGF. “I use a lot of the tools I learned with Conan on Didacus and hope to move up to the U25 on him soon. Borbon HGF is a newer mount for me, though I’ve known him since he was born in 2020,” she said. “The future is very bright with these two special horses.”
While chasing her own dreams, Sophia wants to give back to the next generation so they can make the same magical memories she did at events like NAYC. That’s why she’s actively involved with the USDF National Youth Programs Committee and D4K.
“As a young professional, I feel it’s extremely important to stay involved in governance and youth programs to ensure that future generations have the same opportunities I’ve been fortunate to have. If anything I’ve learned can help someone else in their journey, I feel it’s my duty to share what I can to help them out,” Sophia said. “Rising tides lift all ships. The more we’re able to create a positive learning environment, the more we will be able to promote good horsemanship and teamwork in our sport.”
Recently, Sophia had her first mentorship role at a D4K TEAM clinic. “I never would have thought that one day I would be sharing stories and knowledge with others. It’s very humbling to participate in educational sessions like this as it reminds me of how others helped me at the beginning of my dressage journey,” she said. “Going forward in my career, I want to give back to these programs in any way I can.”
Follow Sophia on Instagram @sophiaschults
Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com
