Nearly a decade ago in 2016, Mia Folk found herself growing up in Idaho, also known as the potato state.

It was the year of fidget spinners, Shopkins and other make-believe toys for most 8-year-olds. But for Folk, her interest while residing in Coeur d’Alene was focused elsewhere.

That was the time when she started horsing around … literally.

The junior said her parents got her involved in the horseback riding sport that she has been competing in since she became a teenager, most recently taking first place in an equestrian event in Chicago last August.

HEAD, HEART, HANDS AND HEALTH

Folk said she recalls when she was 8 going on a couple of pony rides at the North Idaho State Fair, where she and her mom saw a group of Head, Heart, Hands and Health [4-H] kids showing their horses in hopes of attracting new clients for their trainer. Folk’s mom decided at that moment to sign her daughter up.

“My mom was pretty open to it, so it didn’t take me a lot of begging,” the junior said. “I liked horses anyways, so I was definitely very excited to start learning how to ride.”

From then on, Folk joined different organizations besides 4-H, such as a pony club, which allowed her to demonstrate her skills at horseback riding competitions in Idaho fairs and meet new friends, she said.

“[My friends and I] had a lot of fun doing it,” the equestrian said. “I just remember having so many mentors and people helping me trying to get better.”

And get better she did. Five years later at age 13, Folk said she began competing at the international level in front of judges in the equestrian field known as dressage. 

The main reason she started competing in this area of horse riding is because her coach, Stephanie Field, specializes in training others in it, the rising senior said.

“She has competed at the highest level of dressage which is the Grand Prix,” Folk said. “She has had lots of clients in the past and is what makes her very notable.”

Despite riding horses for at least four years, Folk said she never got into dressage until she was coached by Field.

“The main thing I heard about dressage before I started was that it’s very difficult and very technical,” said Folk, who was referring to the different skills both the horse and the rider have to perform in unison.

FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA … AND THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT

After moving to Corvallis, Oregon, in 2019, she said she found a coach to help her with horse jumping trials, which meant she only competed in that type of event. However, that all changed when she secured a new coach — Field — after moving to Fullerton at age 13.

“Moving around affected me and my horses a ton,” Folk said. “Just from the different coaches I had access to in different states and different cities affected how much I competed and also what type of competing I did.”

Folk’s father, Randy, said because his career took his family to different locations, the junior relied on her equestrian background as her backbone to keep her focused at each different environment.

“We were lucky enough that with each one of our moves, Mia progressed a little bit more until she got to Southern California,” he said. “Southern California is recognized as one of the most prestigious areas in the country for equestrian life, and there she got to the very top level of her training and everything that she should need to try to reach her goals.”

In the midst of her various moves came the COVID-19 pandemic that struck in March 2020. But that was also the same time when Mia Folk said she decided to take a break from the sport.

“During COVID-19, I wasn’t as much into competing as I am now,” she said. “I also think because I lived in Oregon at the time, COVID-19 wasn’t as much of a big deal as it probably was in bigger states like California, so my everyday life didn’t change that much.”

Additionally, Mia Folk had her horses stabled at her house so she said she didn’t have to worry about how her animals would be impacted during the lockdown.

“A HORSE, A HORSE, MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE!”

Mia Folk’s rise to the top of her sport last August came with its own set of drama.

Just like in William Shakespeare’s Richard III in which the title character gives the famous line of needing a horse to remain in battle, the junior said she found herself in a similar predicament.

In the middle of June last summer, Astoria, a mare she and her family had leased $20,000 a year in advance for, got injured before she was set to compete in the Junior Olympics in July, Mia Folk said.

“She hurt her foot a couple weeks before the Junior Olympics, so we couldn’t go,” the mare’s rider said.

Financially, renting another horse to prepare for the next competition was out of the question, Mia Folk said. So she was left with only one option: Ask her best friend whom she had met in previous equestrian contests, 15-year-old Sage Chacon, if Mia Folk could borrow Chacon’s horse, named Parco.

Chacon said she didn’t need to think twice to let Mia Folk ride the stallion.

“I let her borrow my pony because I knew that she would do good on him,” said Chacon, a sophomore at Loma Linda Academy in San Bernardino County. “She is a good, confident rider, and I knew she could get qualified to go to Chicago on Parco.”

Even though she only had three to four months to prepare with Parco, which was not a lot of time, Mia Folk said, she trained with the animal seven days a week to earn his trust in order to ensure a smooth performance.

“At first we were going to take both of them until the other one got hurt,” Mia Folk said. “I mainly used Parco [initially] to help him get noticed more so that he would be easier to sell.”

COMPETITION DAY: ANOTHER OBSTACLE

Mia Folk said she and Parco faced a hiccup during their first round at the United States Equestrian Federation [USEF] Festival of Champions [FOC] in Chicago, from Aug. 23-24.

“In the warmup he was fine,” the rider said. “But when we went to compete [the first of two rounds], he got very nervous and [was] on edge the whole time, which made it very challenging to have a steady ride.”

Even her coach acknowledged that Parco seemed to be distracted, leading to a low score of 65% after the first round on Friday, the first day.

“[But] Mia stayed focused on getting him to trust her and pay attention to her signals and continue the pattern she was supposed to execute,” Field said. “Mia and her pony [then] rose to the occasion on the second day of the competition and put in 150%, and it gave her the edge to win.”

Mia Folk agreed with her coach’s assessment, adding, “I knew that to be able to jump all the way to first was going to be tricky, but I knew it was possible.”

When the equestrian ran over to her family, coach and friends after that second round, the possible came true as the competition announcer declared her and Parco as the winners, she said.

“We were all so excited and happy,” Mia Folk said. “I think almost everyone was crying happy tears. … It is a huge accomplishment to win this title when competing with the best of the best in this country.”

Despite the competition taking place a week after her first day of school at Sunny Hills, the junior said she showed up to her classes. She had previously been homeschooled, but she said she decided to enroll here as it was close to her house.

“I knew I was going to have to miss school [later on], but I did try and make an effort to come the first couple of days to at least know my teachers, but after school that first week I went straight to the airport to fly to Chicago,” she said. “Overall, competing in Chicago was a lot more special to me than my first day of school.”

Mia Folk’s coach had high praise for her student.

“Mia has a great ability to stay laser focused on the task at hand when placed in stressful situations such as competing in a national championship,” Field said. “She also has a very good memory for the details and strategies we discuss during her training sessions.”

Randy Folk said he was also proud of Mia Folk’s achievement.

“I think me and her mother were more excited about her winning the national championship than she was,” he said. 

Since she won in the Pony Division — age limit of 14-16 — Mia Folk said she doesn’t expect to be winning a national championship anytime soon.

“I am entering a new division, and it’s a lot more competitive than my last one,” the rider said. “I am also on a new horse, so with all these new changes, I am not expecting a win.”

DEDICATION AND DRIVE

The equestrian said she believes this sport requires a lot more out of the athlete than others. 

“Anyone who isn’t familiar with it all thinks my daily schedule is crazy, and they can never believe that I go visit my horses seven days a week,” she said. “A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes as well.”

Despite competing for five minutes for two days, so much more time goes toward preparations, Mia Folk said. When the equestrian went to Chicago, she said she had to arrive two weeks in advance and was in the horse’s stable from 6 a.m.-9 p.m. preparing to compete.

“In other sports you can train for multiple hours a day, but with horses we only get 45 minutes, five days a week,” she said. “If you train before the biggest competition, like the Olympics, and it goes bad, there is nothing you can do about it as horses are animals, and we treat them very fairly with how much they are worked.”

Despite only getting a limited amount of practice time on her horse, Mia Folk said there is a lot more that goes into practice sessions such as warming up the horse and herself, grooming, putting various equipment on the animal, dressing herself and cooling the horse down after riding.

RIDING TO SUCCESS

Mia Folk said she holds the following titles and awards:

• United States Equestrian Federation [USEF] Pony Rider Champion 2024 
• April 2024’s Hits Del Mar Concours de Dressage International [CDI] Fédération Équestre Internationale [FEI] Junior Champion
• United States Dressage Federation [USDF] Bronze Medal 2025
• the 2024 Flintridge Riding Club Best Equestrian award

The junior said she’s received a couple gift cards and different equipment for horses as prize winnings but never a huge sum of money. At her August competition in Chicago, Mia Folk received keepsakes such as a blue ribbon, decorative blanket for Parco and a silver goblet.

“There’s definitely a lot of juniors that are really good and have done really well that I look up to,” she said. “But I probably look up to my parents a lot just because they really tell me to follow my dreams and don’t give up.”

Randy Folk said he and his wife have one main goal for their only daughter and child.

“At the end of the day, her mother and I only have one hope, and that is that she’s enjoying and loving what she’s doing,” he said. “As long as she’s happy and enjoying what she’s doing, that is the most important thing to us, and that is all that should ever be important.”

ARE THE OLYMPICS IN STORE FOR MIA FOLK’S FUTURE

Mia Folk said she plans to pursue dressage professionally after graduating from high school. 

“I am definitely going to attend college [too],” the junior said. “I want to become a dental hygienist as my main job, but I do want to keep horses as my main focus and goal.”

With her top placement from the Chicago competition, Field said this will open many doors for Mia Folk’s riding career.

“As her coach I hope to help her reach her ultimate goal of representing the USA on an equestrian [Olympic] team one day,” the coach said.

Mia Folk said she’s willing to accept her coach’s challenge. 

“[Horse] riding takes a ton of hard work and dedication and also a ton of patience because a million things can always go wrong with horses,” she said. “To compete at such a high level, you have to truly be passionate about it.”