Oct. 26, 2017
From Pilot Point, Texas, Auburn equestrian Deanna Green has already showed her talent in practice and competition. The freshman has garnered three MOP Horsemanship honors in the three meets competed so far and has the team's highest score on the season with her 78 points vs. Baylor last weekend.
The five-time AQHA Youth World Champion, three-time AQHA Youth Reserve World Champion and 2017 AQHYA World Reining Champion is another example of the added depth that this year's freshman class has brought to the 2017-18 Auburn team.
Q: What are some goals you want to achieve while at Auburn?
A: I'd like to academically take an incline and I hope my riding progresses. I just really would like to be an asset to the team just in general.
Q: Who has influenced you the most in life?
A: My dad, he's my best friend. He's taught me everything I know both horse wise and life wise. He's the hardest working person I've ever met and I've always strived to be just like him.
Q: What are some things riding has taught you?
A: Discipline. Taking care of something other than yourself, always putting your horse before yourself, so selflessness I guess. Commitment, time, and that hard work always pays off.
Q: What was it like growing up showing?
A: I was homeschooled. I didn't have much of a social life or anything in school, which was fine because it was worth it to me and I worked with my dad. I rode all day, but it was what I wanted to do and still want to do.
Q: What event did you start out in?
A: My dad's a pleasure horse trainer so my foundation is mostly in that and it built from there. I had a good horse, she was three ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Buttercup ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" and she just did pleasure and then my dad started changing leads on her. She was really good at that and so I started doing the western riding. I really wanted to start horsemanship and once I did that, I did showmanship. I like to do a little bit of everything. I dabbled in the cutting a little bit and then I got a reiner, so I did a little bit of everything.
Q: What is your favorite event?
A: I like them all, honestly, in different ways. I really enjoyed doing reining this past year. My most successful class would probably be the pleasure and the western riding just because I did it the most, but I like all of it.
Q: What is your most prized possession?
A: My horse, Buttercup. She's everything to me because we grew up together. We were both babies and everything we did together was new to both of us at the same time, so she really taught me a lot of life lessons. She's 10 now, but I've had her since she was a baby.
Q: Who is your favorite horse to ride at Auburn?
A: I like riding Findley. He's not necessarily the greatest, but he always wants to do his job and he is so pretty. He's always fun.
Q: What is your major and why did you choose it?
A: Currently, it's agriculture economics but I'm in the process of changing it. I'm still deciding between elementary education and journalism. I've really liked working in elementary schools. I'm more of a leading person so I think I would be good with kids. With journalism, I'm really into sports so I would like to take some type of sports broadcasting route or something like that.
Q: What do you think makes Auburn's program different that others?
A: We do the work. The girls do the work, which is nice. I think it's cool we all work together very well and I like that we get to ride a lot. It's my favorite part of the day. We just seem like a family here. If you were to walk in, you wouldn't know which girl was hunt seat and which girl was western.
Q: What is your biggest fear?
A: Water and birds, both of those. Just wide-open water, the quiet sound of water freaks me out. And birds, I don't know why but birds are just not OK.
Q: What do you consider to be your biggest riding achievement so far?
A: Winning in reining this year was really cool because I feel like I kind of broke that boundary of just being an all-around pleasure person. And my very first world championship was really awesome. But, anytime you win anything it's always nice wherever you're at.
Q: What was your first time riding for Auburn like at UTM?
A: It was so fun. It was probably the most fun I've ever had just showing. Having so many people cheering for you and actually wanting you to do well was really cool because we don't have that (normally). Away from the team atmosphere, everyone's watching you and not really wanting you to do well. So, actually having a team behind you rooting for you is a really cool feeling.