Today, the 14-year-old from Paul Smiths will take the biggest ride of her young career when she competes at the Interscholastic Equestrian Association Hunt Seat National Finals in Perry, Georgia.

Along with her parents Amanda and Tom and her 5-year-old brother Bryson, Cora left the North Country on Wednesday for the family trip, which they are also turning into a bit of a vacation. Her competition consists of a single ride on Friday and the family will then head to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to finish their adventure down South.

The Saranac Lake High School freshman will compete in the junior novice over fences division along with 18 other riders, with the top eight taking home ribbons. In addition to her family, Cora will have another big fan at the competition — her trainer Jerry Dean, who owns Rein Tree Stables in Canton. This is Cora’s second year competing and she’s traveled to Canton three times a week to train with Dean.

Cora qualified for the national championship event by winning two of five events that were held during her “regular show season,” which stretched from September to December, and she then worked her way through two higher-level competitions. The first was a regional event she won in February near Albany. With that victory, Cora advanced to the zone competition in Newburgh on Easter weekend where she placed second, which was good enough to punch her ticket to Georgia.

The young rider said when she realized she made the national championship, the emotions poured out.

“I hugged and cried it out with my mom and then did the same with Jerry Dean,” Cora said shortly before leaving home on Wednesday. “It’s only my second year competing and this is going to be the biggest thing I’ve ever done. This is a brand-new thing and I’m so excited.”

The IEA was established in 2002 for riders in fourth- through 12th-grade, and the organization has grown from 200 to more than 14,000 members during that time. The IEA format puts competitors on horses they’ve never ridden, so when Cora gets into the ring, she’ll be taking a horse that she just met over the course.

“You just bring yourself and your show attire,” she said. “The horse, the tack, that’s all provided. You get two warm-up jumps on the course to start and then you’re competing. I’ll have one ride down there, just one chance to do it.”

Dean spoke to the Enterprise on Thursday afternoon after he already arrived in Georgia, and said that Hotchkiss certainly stands out among the hundreds of young riders he’s trained since he established his stables in 2008.

“It’s a pretty big deal for her. She’s worked very hard and I think she has a really good chance,” he said. “She has to make sure she keeps the related distances between jumps and goes straighter longer. If she keeps the exact cantor all the way through, she’s got it. I think she can win it, but getting any ribbon at this level will be a success.”

Cora said her mother grew up riding mules and in turn, got her up on a horse at an early age. Eventually, Cora got into competing and said it’s been a 12-month-a-year training process ever since.

“My parents brought me for a lesson, it’s become a regular thing and that’s where we’re at right now,” Cora said. “I go to Canton three times a week, there’s four weeks in each month, so that’s a lot of traveling and training. It’s hard, it’s mentally exhausting and I love it.”

Although equestrian is an extremely expensive sport and reaching the highest level of competition looks to be a long shot for Cora, she hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of the world’s top riders like Olympians Beezie Madden and McClain Ward, who have both claimed medals at the Games for the United States.

“I would like to be like the high-level Olympic jumpers,” Cora said. “It’s something I would like to do for sure.”

Although Cora rides a new horse for the first time each time she competes in an IEA show, she does have her own horse she takes to competitions outside of that organization. That horse is an 8-year-old retired thoroughbred racer named Chief, which she is retraining as a jumper.

“I train with Chief all season long. We’ve had our bumps but we’re progressing,” she said. “What I really like about horses is the amazing bond you can have with a 1,200-pound animal. You have to connect with them mentally and through movement, and it’s really exciting when that happens.”

Dean said in addition to joining Cora at IEA competitions, he’s hoping they will be able to travel to some bigger shows this summer.

“Cora has a really good feel for a horse. She’s got a bit of talent, and she’s really becoming a more advanced rider,” he said. “It’s tough getting to the top level just because of the expense. But if she continues to work really hard, you never know. I’m rooting for her.”