Texas Olympian Heads to Rio to Compete in Only Mixed Gender Event

“I’ve had my horse since he was a five-year-old … we know each other inside and out.”

By Alex DailyAugust 1, 2016 10:48 am, ,

This year, many Texans are headed to Rio for the Summer Olympic Games. Clark Montgomery, who hails from Bryan, Texas, will be representing the United States in the only event which involves both men and women competing against each other: three-day eventing, an equestrian sport.

“What’s unique about eventing is that we do three different disciplines, we do dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. So it’s kind of like the triathlon of equestrian sports,” he says.

Montgomery’s uncle, a cattle rancher in Texas, taught him how to ride. Then at the age of 7, he attended a camp in Kerrville which offered English-style riding classes.

“I can remember being in elementary school, how we had that construction paper that we had to cover our textbooks with,” he says. “I can remember that I just would doodle the Olympic rings on there and little pictures of the medals.”

Listen to the rest of his story in the audio player above.