Anne-Katrin Urzynicok was just six years old when she first discovered her love for being an equestrian. Now, as a junior, she is one of the captains of the JC equestrian team with goals to compete in national derbies and compete at the highest level in the hunters.

Outside of equestrian, Anne enjoys spending time with her friends and skiing in her free time. She has been skiing since she was about three-years-old.
Also at JC, Anne is a Carroll Scholar and is involved on the JC Academic Team. For college she wants to major in biomedical engineering. While in college she wants to continue riding horses.
Along with owning a horse, Anne also has two dogs. There is Astro the greyhound and Ted the Corgi.
Anne has her own horse named Hideaway, but everyone calls him Elliot. She said owning a horse “gives me the freedom to do whatever I want with him and just have fun.”
Anne’s continued success in equestrian is thanks to her and Elliot’s hard work and from her incredible trainers at Claddagh Manner. Anne said her trainers have “taught me so much and supported me all these years.”
Even with her success she still has to focus on the mental game. One of the biggest struggles is being nervous during shows. She said, “Your horse can pick up on it. They can tell if you are unsure, and that makes them nervous, too.”
It is the rider’s job to quiet their nerves and the horse’s nerves during a show.
Anne’s motivation to keep going is her very own Elliot. She said, “Elliot tries so hard for me, so it’s only fair if I try for him.”
For anyone just starting equestrian, Anne recommends to just “have fun.” She said that “it’s easy to get swept up in the competitiveness, so you have to remember that it’s supposed to be fun.”
In regard to being a captain of the equestrian team she said, “It’s great! We have a really incredible team at JC, so it’s awesome to be so involved.”
Her jobs as captain involve “making sure all the work gets done to prepare for horse shows as well as taking care of the horses when we bring them to the shows.”
Going forward in the season, Anne will continue her preparation for the regional championships.