Riding horses is the only thing Kyleigh Heikes has ever known, and it’s something she wants to always have in her life in some capacity.
Heikes is headed to University of California Davis to join its Division I equestrian team next school year. She’s the first Eudora student to have an official signing for an equestrian team.
Heikes competes in horsemanship. It’s one of the lesser-known forms of Western riding, but one of the harder ones, she said.
At each meet, riders are given a pattern to ride with a horse assigned to them. Being able to properly communicate with the horse and make it successful through the pattern without needing to do a lot of jerking or kicking on the horse is the goal. It’s basically a competition of who can best communicate with the horse.
Getting to ride on a team was never something she planned or knew until about eighth grade.
“I never really even saw myself doing it in college at like this level. I was like, well, maybe I’ll come home on the weekend and do some shows. And then when I kind of learned about the equestrian teams, I was like, ‘Oh, that could actually be very interesting, but it wasn’t something I had always planned for,’” Heikes said.
She transferred to the Eudora district to get involved with FFA and to continue to learn through the school’s ed-tech programs, she said. She lives on the border of Olathe and De Soto.
Her parents, Danielle and Kevin, grew up rodeoing and showing horses. They said it’s been cool to see their daughter have the same interest, but it was never their dream for her. They said It’s her journey that they want to support and follow her on.
“Every parent picks tools to raise their kids, and the tool that Kyleigh was interested in was horseback riding,” Kevin Heikes said. “I think as parents, you know, our job is to lean into those passions and try to find those activities that really can make kids better – as parents help us support them as they become young people.”
Danielle Heikes said this had been a dream of hers for a long time, and she never gave up on making it happen.
“I think parents always hope for dreams and goals that they had as children to be able to come true for their own kids, and Kyleigh rides at a level that neither Kevin nor I ever achieved,” she said.
It’s always a parent’s goal to enable more opportunities for their kids than they had as kids, Kevin Heikes said.
Her dad’s parents still live on a ranch in Colorado, so Kyleigh Heikes grew up riding horses there for fun. It’s something she’s always loved – whether it’s riding or just hanging out around them, she said.
For her eighth birthday, her parents got her four lessons with a quarter horse trainer. That was the start of something that will follow her throughout the rest of her life, she said.
After riding with a couple of trainers and still feeling committed to the sport, Heikes felt like she was ready to have her own horse. She knew it was expensive and would take a lot of dedication and commitment. In sixth grade, she wrote a persuasive essay outlining to her parents why she wanted her own horse.
By the summer of seventh grade, she had convinced her parents to start looking. She had her first horse for over a year before deciding it was going to be hard to break some of his bad habits created when she was newer to riding.
Heikes wanted the rest of her youth career to be great, and she knew she needed a horse that would help get her there. Her trainer of over four years, Katelyn Connolly, has also helped her get to where she is now. She and her parents decided to invest in another horse, Fritz, who has been with her since.
“He’s [Fritz] what started my show horse career the way it is now. So If I hadn’t bought that horse, I hadn’t gone to that trainer, there’s no way I would have made it onto a team like this,” she said.
Her parents have seen the positive impact of the trainers on their daughter. Help from her current coach helped make this all possible for her, they agreed.
“You never know with an 8 year old or 5 year old what something might turn into. But it was important for Kevin and I to find adults that will invest in our children, because we do think it’s so important to have those partnerships in life for our kids, and to have that network that they can reach their potential,” Danielle Heikes said.
With her horse, Fritz, Kyleigh Heikes was able to go to every show possible and began going to equestrian school camps. She went to two at Oklahoma State – the school she originally planned to attend in hopes of joining their Division I equestrian team.
Her junior year, she began thinking that maybe it wasn’t the right school. She knew it would be competitive and she likely wouldn’t get to start in her first few years.
During spring break, she and her parents took some trips to schools. After spending a day at UC Davis, she couldn’t stop thinking about going to college there.
After struggling to get responses from the school due to coaching changes, she messaged a girl on the team for help. She eventually got the email of a new coach and, after submitting videos, was offered a starting spot on the team.
For her, riding is about effective communication and pushing aside all emotion from past experiences. Her work with horses also has given her better communication skills with people, she said.
“You have to learn to work with an animal that is bigger than you, is stronger than you, but at the same time, it’s relying on you entirely,” she said. ”I think that it can be very difficult just learning how to, like, trust your horse and be the person that your horse can trust.”
Although she’s been through some hard times throughout her journey, she’s never once considered quitting. It’s not something she can ever imagine a life without, she said. Heikes plans to become a vet after college.
She can’t wait for college to start and to be surrounded by others who are just as passionate, she said. Fritz, her horse, will stay in Kansas and her sister will ride him while she’s at college.
“I’m just really excited to soak up every moment and just appreciate the fact that, like, I made it here. This has been my goal for so long,” Heikes said.
