Alexandra Lawson is a 19-year-old freshman at Purdue University from North Salem, Indiana. She is a member of the three-gaited section of the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team.

I've spent most of my life in the small farm communities of Danville and North Salem, Indiana. My parents and maternal grandparents are grain farmers - farming about 5,000 acres in the surrounding area. When you grow up in farm country, you just naturally get involved with FFA and 4-H, and it was through 4-H that I was introduced to and fell in love with Saddle Seat Equitation.

If it wasn’t for Saddle Seat Equitation - I may have never left the quiet comforts of North Salem and Danville - and discovered the challenges, frustrations, failures, and successes that life can bring  if you just live it to the fullest. My parents and grandparents have encouraged me and even pushed me (thanks Mom!) to set goals and do everything I can to reach and even exceed those goals, which has taken me to shows all across the United States, to South Africa, and on to some unbelievable successes that I had only dreamed of until the last few years.

It has not been an easy road. I have been kicked, bitten, stepped on, bucked off, thrown in the dirt, spent countless hours training alone or with only my sister to keep me going, and driven 3 1/2 hours one way every Saturday for several years just to take lessons from my trainer and coach. I was humiliated last year while competing in a national championship when my horse bucked during the entire class.  I was just glad that I wasn't thrown off and I showed back in the evening class in spite of the poor performance I had in the morning. I learned to face my failure and work through it.

With clear goals in mind, I kept working and finally realized success by winning some of the most prestigious titles including the USEF Medal Finals National Championship in Kansas City, Missouri. I even became a World’s Champion 17 Year Old in Louisville, Kentucky in 2011.


Winning these prestigious titles is not the true success though. The real successes are the life lessons I learned from the adversity and disappointments that I have  faced  on my journey. I have learned that anything worth having takes diligence, patience, and perseverance. Overcoming obstacles and things beyond anyone’s control taught me to work harder and think smarter and to be focused and driven. My parents, grandparents, coaches, and trainers have drilled into my brain that these things can be their own reward. I have learned that I want to continue to set high goals for myself and strive to reach them.

I look forward to an end to an incredible equitation journey by competing in South Africa with the Saddle Seat World Cup Team!