When senior Elizabeth Bang first rode a pony that her preschool brought in, she fell in love. Now, 13 years later, she rides horses every day.

“I just remember feeling that I wanted to keep doing this,” Bang said. 

She kept begging her parents to allow her to start horseback riding until they finally agreed in first grade when she and her family moved to Novi. 

She now rides under the jumping discipline, where the horse has to avoid obstacles.

“It genuinely feels like you’re flying,” Bang said.

Bang’s riding equipment

Photo by Satvika Ramanathan

Bang rides personally as well as competitively. She has her own personal horse, Forty, and also is a member of Skyline’s equestrian team. 

Bang got Forty earlier this year, and since then has been focusing on growing closer to him.

“It’s not easy to have a relationship with a horse,” she said. “You can’t just expect it to happen. You have to think from their perspective.”

Bang said that whenever she is going through a tough time, turning to her horse is a good coping mechanism. 

“The horse can sense if you’re not feeling great,” she said. “They’re not here to judge you. I’m not there for the people, I’m there for the horses.”

Two years ago, Bang went through a rough spot where she didn’t have a great relationship with her trainer. She left that barn and then went through eight different trainers in one year. She questioned sticking with the sport then, but decided to keep pushing through. 

“I tried to imagine myself not doing [equestrian],” she said. “I couldn’t imagine life without it.”

She eventually was able to find another trainer and now has a much healthier feeling towards her barn. 

“I learned that it’s okay to find the right fit for you,” Bang said. “It’s not going to ruin my riding career.”

Bang said another challenge that she faces as a Korean-American rider is that she stands out from many people in her sport. 

“Unlike the majority of people, I’m not rich, and I’m not white,” she said.

It was difficult for Bang to build connections within the sport initially.

“There’s a stereotype that Asian people are just smart people,” she said. “And then they just look at me and they’re like, ‘she’s smart.’ I found it hard to make friends.”

Her financial status is another thing that separates her from her peers. Bang has two younger sisters, which means that she is thinking about their needs in addition to her own when asking her parents for support. 

“I do my best to limit what I buy and try and save money, just because I feel guilty for my parents,” she said. 

Her mom, So Ye Yang, is very proud of her effort, though.

“She decided to do [equestrian], and she does it all the way,” Yang said. “She never gave up. She has the passion.”

Bang balances riding with a busy class schedule and other extracurricular activities. A lot of her intrinsic motivation comes from the values instilled by her mom from a young age. 

Starting in kindergarten, she and her sisters would have an activity every day after school. Her mom was pretty strict on time management and commitment. 

“If we signed up for it, we were going to do it,” Bang said. “I’m not a ‘sorry I can’t come’ person.”

Her Skyline coach, Julie Fleming, loves her work ethic. 

“[Bang] works really hard and she tries to learn everything possible about what she’s doing,” Fleming said. 

The empowered feeling Bang gets from riding makes it all worth it. 

“When you’re riding, no other thoughts are present,” she said. “It’s just about how you and the horse are feeling in the moment.”