by Sheri Duff

Cara Paganelli was born to ride. At five she remembers her first ride with a friend who had a horse. At age six she is competing in local horse shows. At seven Paganelli has "Annie," her first horse. Fast forward another seven years and here's what you'll find.

Paganelli is a young rider with a full tilt commitment to the sport and to the animal. For competitive riders, choosing a trainer and a barn is akin to choosing a coach and a sports team. Paganelli began training with Sarah Rice, and followed her from barn to barn, until recently, when Rice opened her own barn in Shelburne called Summerwood Farms.

An eighth grader at the Shelburne Community School, Paganelli was born Jan. 14, 1996 in Kransnoyarsk, Russia, (the third largest city in Siberia). She grew up in Shelburne with parents, Barb and Bill, two older brothers, Chris and Kyle, age 22 and 17-years-old respectively, and their dogs Troy and Tessa. Not to mention her current horse, Peter Pan.

In addition to year-round riding and training for hunter jumper competitions, Paganelli plays field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and loves freestyle skiing. Paganelli shares that, "skiing is my favorite thing to do." Adding, "My family has a condo at Jay Peak so we ski all winter long."

Within two years Paganelli had two right knee surguries. Seventeen months after undergoing on initial surgical procedure on her right knee. She tore an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the same knee while skiing. She was "grounded," however, that didn't stop her in her tracks. She then opted to begin training in a competitve horse class referred to as "Furturity." Futurity is a riding class in which only riders with young (five-years-old or younger) horses compete so that all the riders are on similar yet less trained animals.

Although it may difficult to get back into athletic shape after an ACL injury Paganelli doesn't think of it in those terms. In fact, she doesn't seem to think about it at all. Which reminds me of a horse joke that Cara might appreciate.  

What do hunter jumper riders do when they see an obstacle? They just get over it...

Medically cleared to compete a few weeks ago, Paganelli chose the Oscala Horse Show in Oscala, Fla. for her gentle comeback. "I only competed in a few events. But I was happy with my showing," she said. "Especially since I couldn't ride my own horse."

Since Oscala, Paganelli is interested in selling her current horse for a larger, more trained horse. The investment would enable Paganelli to compete in classes that require more experienced horses because she is considered an experienced rider.

Last month at the Vermont Hunter Jumper Association's year-end banquet Paganelli received two awards. Reserve Champion: A second place finish after the points from every competitive event are totaled and Young Hunter Futurity: an award given for a well-trained young horse with a bright future.

Most people might be surprised to know that Paganelli is also a talented singer. In fact, she sings with the Vermont Youth Orchestra. At this point in the interview nothing this 14-year-old does would surprise this reporter.

When asked about future plans Paganelli thinks both short and long-term. As for short-term she must decide where to enroll for high school. Although both brothers attend(ed) Rice Memorial, Paganelli is currently undecided. Still under consideration are Rice and CVU. After high school there will be college. But there's plenty of time for that. Her long-term goal is to return to Russia. Towards that end she is taking Russian lessons with an emphasis on understanding Russian culture for an eventual return to her homeland. Schastlivogo puti, or as they say in Russian, have a comfortable journey.