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Knight excels in academics, athletics and the arts
Sep 22, 2004 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Some people might hesitate to remount a horse after they have been thrown off. Not Caroline Knight. To Knight, an eighth grader at Darlington Middle School, it was a challenge.
“Both my parents had horses when my brothers and I were growing up,” she said. “When I was 6 years old, I got a pony named 'Peaches.' The first day I rode her, she threw me off and bit me, and I have ridden ever since.”
Three years ago, Knight received the best Christmas present she could have ever asked for – her very own quarter horse. It was Christmas morning, and she was upset because her brothers Stovall (’05) and Stiles (’01) had received the gifts they had been wanting, a rifle and an electric guitar.
“I was jealous because I had only gotten a rope halter,” said Knight. “My mom decided she wanted to go to the barn and see the horses, and she asked if I wanted to go. I didn’t. My dad stood and did the same. I still said no. Then, both my brothers decided to go. I still said no. Then my parents told me in a firm voice that I needed to go, so I went.”
She took one step outside and there stood a horse with a shaggy, dark brown coat and a white blaze on his face. Full of joy, she began screaming and jumping up and down.
“I have never been so happy in my life,” she said.
Knight named her horse "Denny." Denny was a barrel racer, but his owner had decided to sell him because he lacked talent.
“I taught him how to jump and do dressage,” said Knight, who is no stranger to placing in eventing competitions. “He is now my show horse. Sadly, though, I am looking for another, because he is getting too small, and I have gone above his abilities … Denny is the first horse I have ever shared a bond with so great no one could break. He follows me everywhere I go and is my pride and joy.
With six other horses besides Denny, Knight definitely stays busy taking care of them. However, she also manages to stay dedicated to one other extracurricular activity – playing violin with the Oak Hill Symphony Orchestra.
“I got my first violin at an auction when I was 4, and I have played ever since,” she said. “This is my first year playing in this symphony, but my granny took me to the orchestra when I was young, and I was a part of the Darlington Orchestra in sixth and seventh grade.”
Although sometimes it gets stressful to get home after a long day of school, ride her horse and take care of the rest of the horses for two hours, play violin for one hour and do her homework, Knight said she wouldn’t change a thing.
“You can ask my mom – I’m not always the happy camper. I have fun, though, and at the end of the year when I pass my exams, play well in my violin concert and succeed greatly with my horse, it feels good,” she said. “I can say, ‘Wow, you know, that wasn’t so bad.’ Stress and hard work pay off even if no one notices. You notice, and you know inside you did awesome.”
Knight, who has attended Darlington since the sixth grade, is looking forward to joining the ranks of the Upper School next year and has even shown interest in Darlington’s Three-Day Eventing Academy.
“I will definitely three-day event as long as I am able to,” she said. “I sometimes wish that I could play soccer or basketball like other people, but then I watch people when they see horses and they are sometimes scared and don’t understand them at all. Knowing that I can get on my horse and go for the ride of my life any day of the week is something most people can’t do. The feel of galloping through a pasture bareback on a horse that loves you more than anything will never leave me, and that’s what pushes me on. That’s what will take me through high school, college and the Olympics, I believe.”
Knight is the daughter of Frederick and Julia Knight of Cartersville, Ga.
“Both my parents had horses when my brothers and I were growing up,” she said. “When I was 6 years old, I got a pony named 'Peaches.' The first day I rode her, she threw me off and bit me, and I have ridden ever since.”
Three years ago, Knight received the best Christmas present she could have ever asked for – her very own quarter horse. It was Christmas morning, and she was upset because her brothers Stovall (’05) and Stiles (’01) had received the gifts they had been wanting, a rifle and an electric guitar.
“I was jealous because I had only gotten a rope halter,” said Knight. “My mom decided she wanted to go to the barn and see the horses, and she asked if I wanted to go. I didn’t. My dad stood and did the same. I still said no. Then, both my brothers decided to go. I still said no. Then my parents told me in a firm voice that I needed to go, so I went.”
She took one step outside and there stood a horse with a shaggy, dark brown coat and a white blaze on his face. Full of joy, she began screaming and jumping up and down.
“I have never been so happy in my life,” she said.
Knight named her horse "Denny." Denny was a barrel racer, but his owner had decided to sell him because he lacked talent.
“I taught him how to jump and do dressage,” said Knight, who is no stranger to placing in eventing competitions. “He is now my show horse. Sadly, though, I am looking for another, because he is getting too small, and I have gone above his abilities … Denny is the first horse I have ever shared a bond with so great no one could break. He follows me everywhere I go and is my pride and joy.
With six other horses besides Denny, Knight definitely stays busy taking care of them. However, she also manages to stay dedicated to one other extracurricular activity – playing violin with the Oak Hill Symphony Orchestra.
“I got my first violin at an auction when I was 4, and I have played ever since,” she said. “This is my first year playing in this symphony, but my granny took me to the orchestra when I was young, and I was a part of the Darlington Orchestra in sixth and seventh grade.”
Although sometimes it gets stressful to get home after a long day of school, ride her horse and take care of the rest of the horses for two hours, play violin for one hour and do her homework, Knight said she wouldn’t change a thing.
“You can ask my mom – I’m not always the happy camper. I have fun, though, and at the end of the year when I pass my exams, play well in my violin concert and succeed greatly with my horse, it feels good,” she said. “I can say, ‘Wow, you know, that wasn’t so bad.’ Stress and hard work pay off even if no one notices. You notice, and you know inside you did awesome.”
Knight, who has attended Darlington since the sixth grade, is looking forward to joining the ranks of the Upper School next year and has even shown interest in Darlington’s Three-Day Eventing Academy.
“I will definitely three-day event as long as I am able to,” she said. “I sometimes wish that I could play soccer or basketball like other people, but then I watch people when they see horses and they are sometimes scared and don’t understand them at all. Knowing that I can get on my horse and go for the ride of my life any day of the week is something most people can’t do. The feel of galloping through a pasture bareback on a horse that loves you more than anything will never leave me, and that’s what pushes me on. That’s what will take me through high school, college and the Olympics, I believe.”
Knight is the daughter of Frederick and Julia Knight of Cartersville, Ga.
