a singulair achievement
The sport is called eventing. It’s a three-phase equestrian competition, the rough equivalent of a sprint triathlon. Nina Ligon is good at it, so good, in fact, that in the Southeast Asian Games in mid-December, she won the gold medal and led Thailand, the host nation, to the team championship. That’s quite a feat, but it’s even more impressive when you consider that at 16, the talented yet very unassuming Collegiate sophomore was the youngest and only female entrant in her specialty.
“Heading over, I was preoccupied with my individual success, but once I got to know my teammates, it became much more important for me to contribute to the team medal,” said Nina, whose mother Pan is a native of Thailand. “It was definitely amazing and a great learning experience.”
The first phase of the three-day event was dressage where horse and rider follow a prescribed pattern around a ring and are judged on the beauty, precision, and discipline of their movements. Aboard her horse Pacific Storm, Nina completed her initial test with 44.3 penalties, a score of 70.48 percent, and a lead she never relinquished.
“There was actually quite a bit of pressure,” she explained, “but when there’s pressure, I go into maybe 2 to 3 minutes of meditation to clear my mind of everything. “Then, when I come back, I’m much more relaxed.”
In the second phase, cross country, horse and rider negotiate a course over solid fences and through fields and trails in as close to 7 minutes as possible without exceeding that time limit. Requiring controlled intensity, agility, and bravery, it’s not for the faint of heart, and one mistake can eliminate a rider from contention or, worse yet, result in a fall. It’s Nina’s favorite part of eventing, and she finished with a perfect mark.
“It actually terrifies me,” she said with a smile, “but I really enjoy the speed and personal challenge. “I’m kind of a shy person who gets intimidated easily. This is the one odd thing I do.”
In the final phase, show jumping, horse and rider have two minutes to complete a course set within a ring, which, in this competition, had 11 jumps. She finished with only one fence down and, with a total score of 48.3 penalties, became the first woman representing Thailand ever to claim eventing gold in the SEA Games.
In a sport where competitors are often separated by mere decimal points, the runnerup, Wisrut Tangplan of Thailand, was well behind with 67.8.
Nina’s singular achievement was a spectacular benchmark in a journey that began when she was introduced to riding at age 5. In just a few months, she rode in her first competition and now shows regularly with great success throughout the South and East, especially during the spring and fall.
“I’ve always really loved animals,” she said. “Riding is an opportunity to do a sport I love and be around animals. It’s actually more than a sport. It’s forming a bond with an animal.”
What’s next for this quiet, humble young woman whose eyes light up as she discusses her athletic passion?
With her exams behind her, she’s enjoying some rest, relaxation, and time with her friends, happy that the pace of life has slowed considerably from the whirlwind of the last two months.
She rides every day, usually under the watchful eye of her coach, Jon LaForce, and dreams of representing Thailand in the Asian Games in 2010 and perhaps the London Olympics two years hence. And she reflects often on her most recent adventure and proudly recalls that transcendent moment when she rode a victory lap, the colors of her birth nation streaming behind her, to celebrate the greatest achievement of her burgeoning career.
“Being able to carry the Thai flag brought out my pride in my Thai heritage,” she said. “It will always be a wonderful memo
