Student excels in show jumping

OLYMPIC HOPEFUL- Madeline Burkhartsmeier, center, holds her championship banner during an awards ceremony at the 2006 United States Equestrian Federation National Pony Jumper Team Championships.

Moorpark resident and eighth-grader Madeline Burkhartsmeier is busy not only with her studies but in training and competing in the field of equestrian show jumping, with the goal of competing in the Olympics.

Madeline's scholastic and equestrian accomplishments were recently highlighted at the annual eighth-grade promotion breakfast for students in the Home Schooling Program, sponsored by the Moorpark Unified School District's Home Independent Study Program. The event highlighted the accomplishments of all the home schoolers going on to high school.

Madeline's jumping career has taken her across the country and brought her many awards, including the 2006 United States Equestrian Federation National Pony Jumper Team Championship.

Her team represented Zone 10, which covers California and Nevada, for the first time ever in the Pony Finals class in Kentucky. Her team was also one rider short of the four-field rider teams entered in the competition, and their horses had the farthest combined distance to travel. This meant they did not have a fourth rider's low score to throw out. Although the three girls on the team were all first-timers to Pony Finals, they rode three double-clean rounds.

Equestrian show jumping is a demanding sport requiring daily practice and training. With limited daylight hours in the late fall and winter, training for this sport becomes a challenge for a fulltime student. Madeline was able to succeed in her college preparation and also put in hours in training for her athletic goals through the Home Independent Study Program.

Her father, Gary Burkhartsmeier, president and CEO of VetExpress Laboratories, said, "This program allowed Madeline to maximize her educational efforts through focused coursework and personal attention while providing the flexibility to allow for the training and attendance at show competitions."