Favorite Quote: “Always end on a good slide.”
Sophia Cairo is a 16 year old Western Reining rider from Georgetown, KY. She began her riding journey at the local YMCA at six years old and continued to drive her passion for horses, working on the barn and learning from the older kids. She even participated in 4H when she didn’t own a horse just to absorb all that she could. At age 11, she began training with Mal McGuire, a renowned reining trainer who started the Kentucky Reining Horse Association. She also became the proud owner of a sweet American Quarter Horse mare, Girl With A Magnum.
Sophia embraced reining- the spins, the slides, the complicated patterns. At the KRHA shows, she is always the first to congratulate the winner and compliment another rider’s slides, shares Casey Cairo, her mother, who nominated her. After four amazing years with Mal, he lost his battle with cancer, leaving Sophia without a trainer and unsure of her riding future. Despite the emotional toll of having her trainer sick, and not able to be at most of the shows last year, she was the Green 2 Reserve Champion in the state, as well as in the top ten youth riders in Kentucky in 2023. In February, at the Mal McGuire Memorial Reining Classic, she scored her first 70 (a perfect score), a goal she has been working on for two years.
Losing her trainer has been one of Sophia’s biggest challenges. “It was a very sudden and incredibly difficult loss for Sophia- a trainer becomes a part of your family. One of the things I’m most proud of is that Sophia got up and spoke at his memorial service, giving everyone a glimpse of how much he meant to her through her heartfelt words,” said mother Casey. Sophia is now working with trainer Elijah McQuerry.
Sophia was awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Gold Award for 2023 for her volunteerism at her two favorite barns- the Camp Ernst Ranch and Central Kentucky Riding for Hope, serving over 100 hours. Sophia leads lesson horses for disabled youth riders at CKRH, volunteers at their fundraising horse shows and events, served as a junior counselor at Camp Ernst (with the local YMCA). At Camp Ernst, she worked with children of veterans and first responders who were first-time campers, teaching them how to tack up horses and leading trail rides. She has a passion for helping others and combines that with her love of horses in unique and impactful ways. Her favorite quote is “Always end on a good slide.”
Sophia attends Sayre School and wants to major in biology or chemistry and one day work in laboratory science. Her goal is to be in a field that directly helps animals, through research and development of equine nutrition or medications. She has a passion for helping others, and she will continue to be involved in her volunteer work with therapeutic riding programs.
Age:
16
Discipline:
Western, Reining
Hometown:
Georgetown, KY
Trainer:
Elijah McQuerry
School:
Sayre School
