DATE: Friday, July 18, 1997                 TAG: 9707160197
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Cover Story 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER JACOBSON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  162 lines

CHESAPEAKE RIDING CHAMPIONS TEAM UP FOR OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL HORSE SHOW

The road to Oklahoma City is long, hard and a little unfamiliar to nine girls who love riding horses.

But this weekend the young riders, including four from Chesapeake, will head to the Sooner state to compete in their first-ever national horse show championship.

The girls, who range in age from 9 to 17, have qualified for the Youth National Arabian & Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show, which will be held Sunday through July 26th in Oklahoma City.

It's a huge honor for the riders, who have competed only in small and regional events so far.

``It's not a show where anyone can go,'' said Virginia S. Godwin, owner and head trainer of Chesapeake Training Center Ltd. in Suffolk, where the girls ride.

They qualified by racking up points in a number of events throughout the mid-Atlantic region during the horse show year, which began in March and will end in November.

Though they will compete individually, Godwin said the girls will go to the national competition as a team. There's a strong camaraderie among them. They will support each other in Oklahoma as much as they do every day during practice at the center.

In Godwin's eyes the girls are champions just for making the event.

``They have been training for this for all their lives,'' she said.

They'll need the experience. The competition in Oklahoma will be stiff.

``It's a national show, but anyone can compete from any part of the world as long as they qualify in the United States,'' Godwin said.

She suspects that countries such as Canada, Mexico and Brazil will have representatives there.

Post cards and old movies make horseback riding look effortless, like the rider and the horse are one galloping unit.

In real life, it doesn't work that way. Horses are difficult to control. Riders must spend hours, days and months bonding with their horses and practicing the movements.

In a national competition, as many as 30 riders must walk, trot, canter and gallop together in a ring, trying not to step on each other while impressing three judges.

``That gets very crowded,'' Godwin said. ``They need to not only present their horses well, but they have to negotiate traffic like race car drivers.

Godwin has prepared her girls for mishaps that are likely to occur in the ring.

The goal isn't speed. Riders will be judged for qualities like poise, polish and technique.

To win, riders must create the image of post-card perfection.

The judges will present the best with the titles of champion, reserve champion (second place), top 5 and top 10.

Winning would be great, but Godwin tells her girls that it's not the most important thing.

``My philosophy for these girls is that anyone can go out and buy a blue ribbon for about two bucks,'' she said. ``But no one can buy a great ride. That has to be earned.''

Elizabeth A. Mowery, a 17-year-old rising senior at Western Branch High, spends every summer day practicing to achieve that awesome ride at nationals. The hard work put her in the top five in regional championships held July 4th in Lexington.

With her chestnut hair pulled back from her tan face, Mowery and her teammates ride in the afternoon sun to get used to the sweltering heat they'll face in Oklahoma.

``It's not humid there,'' Mowery said. ``It's hot like an oven.''

Mowery is one of the center's most seasoned youth riders. She is one of two girls who work and train at the barn. She shows up for work grooming horses as early as 7 a.m., and doesn't leave until 4:30 p.m.

She needs the extra money to afford the high cost of competition. Lessons are $50 an hour, and extra training for the horse is $500 a month. Competing in one horse show costs anywhere from $500 to $1,200. Oklahoma's show will total almost $2,500.

For Julie R. Winchell and her family, the cost is worth it. The 16-year-old rising senior at Prince George County High School is also headed for Oklahoma.

Winchell began riding when her parents divorced seven years ago.

``I think she got it from me,'' said Mary M. Winchell, Julie's stepmother. ``I was the one that was the rider. When I started socially being with her and her father she decided she wanted to ride.''

She said horse shows have helped Julie come out of her shell. As a child, Julie was very shy and often would hide behind adults when meeting new people.

``I wouldn't say a word,'' Julie said. ``Just hang onto everybody.''

Her stepmother also said riding helped Julie deal with her fractured home life.

``It stabilized her and her father as far as getting on with life,'' she said.

Winchell said horse riding can benefit just about anyone.

``With riding, no matter if you're a child who's mad at a friend or an adult who's had a hard day at work, all that goes away when you're on the back of a horse,'' she said.

Still, there are many responsibilities that come with riding. Julie must take care of her horse. And Winchell literally takes the reins from Julie if her schoolwork slips.

Angel L. Pest, a Portsmouth public school teacher, handles her 10-year-old daughter's academics in the same way. Rachel L. Pest also will compete in Oklahoma.

Angel Pest said riding motivates her daughter to do well in school.

``If academics aren't up, she doesn't get to ride,'' she said.

Since Rachel began riding three years ago, her mother has watched the sport boost Rachel's confidence and self-esteem.

So the Pests don't worry about the shows' expense.

``We could either take a trip to the Bahamas or go to a horse show,'' she said. ``We'd rather go to a horse show.''

To the riders and their parents, Godwin is a godsend. She has taught her students how to ride aggressively, emphasizing the importance of ring strategy.

She knows what it's like to compete; she holds a national riding title in Canada.

An athletic woman with skin bronzed from many a midday ride, Godwin has been riding horses since she was 6 years old.

A Suffolk native, Godwin competed for Randolph Macon Woman's College. After she graduated in 1977, she taught wildlife management at her alma mater, but only for a year.

She then looked for a job as a research scientist with the government. While she was waiting for that, people began contacting her to train their horses.

What started out as an occasional training session turned into a profession.

``This was not my career of choice,'' she said. ``It is now.''

At the time, Godwin said, she didn't think she had the ability to be a national-level trainer.

Now she is 38, and her riders think Godwin made the right choice.

Godwin can be tough at times, they said, but she always has their best interests in mind.

``She'll push you to the extreme to make you the best,'' Mowery said.

``She may be tough, but it's for your benefit,'' Julie Winchell said.

``She'll make you practice until you get it right,'' Rachel Pest said.

That's high praise from kids. But Godwin has earned their respect. This is the first year that any of these girls will compete nationally.

Godwin has owned the Chesapeake Training Center since 1984. She started in the Great Bridge area of Chesapeake, but moved the business two years ago when it outgrew the facility.

She chose a 1,600-acre farm in Suffolk for the new location. Godwin kept the Chesapeake name because she didn't want to change what she had started with.

She's happy with the new barn, especially with its rich history. The Suffolk land at one time was a prominent race horse farm.

``I feel like we're carrying on history,'' Godwin said. ``We're really proud to carry on at least the heritage of horses here.''

Godwin is now making her own history. Arabian Horse World Magazine voted her among the top trainers for 1997, making the Chesapeake Training Center one of the best in the industry.

Godwin pushes to bring out the best in the kids she trains.

``Some kids get into horses for many reasons,'' she said. ``I really encourage kids to get into horses for the love of horses. I don't pressure them to win. I pressure them to do their best. That's a big difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover

Photos by GARY C. KNAPP

Jamie Wisenbaker, 14, rides Prelude to Passion a 6-year-old half

Arabian gelding, under coach Virginia Godwin's watchful eye.

Ashley Poole, 10, watches one thing while her horse,

Gold-N-Satin a 6-year-old Arabian mare, finds something of interest

in the other direction. Ashley and eight other Chesapeake girls will

participate in a national horse competition.

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