Fairbanks High School senior Natalie Vargo signs a letter of intent for a college equestrian scholarship. Vargo will be riding western-style equestrian for the women’s team at the University of South Carolina. She is pictured with her parents Mike and Sandy.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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Fairbanks High School senior Natalie Vargo’s love of horse riding naturally came about at a very young age.
“I started riding a pony by the time I could walk,” she said.
The joy of horses came from her parents Sandy and Mike, who each showed horses in equestrian shows for a number of years.
“Mom has shown and trained in equestrian for 30 years,” said Vargo.
The FHS senior began her own competitive equestrian career at the age of nine.
“Natalie took to it right away,” said her mother. “She has a natural talent for it.”
Vargo, who has competed in various equestrian associations throughout the state and country, will continue her career on the collegiate level. She recently signed a college scholarship offer at the University of South Carolina.
“I had looked at several other schools, including Ohio State, Texas Christian, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State,” she said.
Vargo said South Carolina has a strong equestrian program and also fits into her academic goals.
“I want to study either nursing or criminal justice,” she said. “South Carolina has more of the curriculum I wanted.”
Vargo said she also chose South Carolina through some family ties.
Her dad played football as a defensive tackle at the school.
Collegiate equestrian matches have different events, including over-the-fence or flat riding.
A point system is used to judge winners of each event. Points scored for events are added to a team’s final score during a match. A good score in any event is 90 points, as rated by judges.
Each event victory adds one point to a team’s overall score.
Riders from each team draw to compete on the same horse in any given event. They are graded on how well they perform with the same horse.
Vargo will compete in the western-style reining and horsemanship categories for the South Carolina team.
“The coaches at South Carolina have been recruiting me since my freshman year in high school,” said Vargo. “Division I college equestrian programs offer only a handful of full-ride scholarships each year.”
There are two separate college seasons for schools that offer equestrian.
There is a fall season that will begin for Vargo in late August and run through early November. There will be a break until the spring season that runs from March until June.
Vargo will take some impressive credentials to South Carolina.
She is a three-time youth world champion and a two-time champ for the All-American Quarterhorse Congress.
Vargo, who has ridden multiple horses during her career, also won a bronze medal three times at the Youth World competition that includes riders from the United States and 13 other countries.