Amanda Ronan, Auburn Media Relations Intern
Since her love of horseback riding as a little girl began, freshman Ellie Becker has aspired to work with animals. Something that makes Becker, an animal sciences major, unique is that when the vets come to practice, she enjoys watching and helping out to further her experiences for her future as a sports medicine equine veterinarian.
"I want to do whatever to help the horses since this sport can be so hard on them," Becker said. "We treat them like varsity athletes, so I would want to be in that world of helping them."
Becker came to continue her academic and athletic career at Auburn from Bellevue, Wash. Among the many accolades she brings to the Plains, Becker was the 2017 AjPHA World Championship Show Champion in Bareback Western Horsemanship, 2017 AjPHA Championship Show Top 5 Novice Youth Trail and 2017 AjPHA Championship Show Top 10 Novice Youth Western Horsemanship.
Q: What made you want to come to Auburn?
A: I loved my campus tour when I first came here. I was just walking around with my mom and I really loved it. I came here for one of the clinics with the coaches, and I loved working with the coaches. I loved riding with Coach Mary Meneely. It was just the perfect fit for me.
Q: How do you think Auburn will shape your life for after college?
A: I'm majoring in Animal Science and it's a great program here, so I'm excited to use that and build off of that whether I want to get a job right out of college or go to veterinary school. Auburn will prepare me no matter what and set me up 100 percent for whatever I decide to do. On top of that, I'll be able to gain traits like self-discipline and time management while being a student-athlete. There's a lot of getting up to work out at 5 a.m. when you don't want to. That, along with other things I have to do, will help me later in life.
Q: What's your biggest goal athletically while being at Auburn?
A: My biggest goal athletically is to win eight rings.
Q: Describe a moment where you really knew you were passionate about equestrian.
A: I definitely knew I was passionate about this sport when I did dance, piano lessons and other things that everyone tries out when they're a little kid. When I was doing equestrian, I found myself really loving it. It was the only thing that I didn't try to fake being sick for so I could miss, like piano lessons. I really loved it and always wanted to do it.
Q: If you had a million dollars to donate to any charity, which charity would you donate it to and why?
A: I would say probably to the humane society or any cause for animals.
Q: What makes Auburn unique?
A: I think Auburn is really unique because everyone that goes here or is a part of the Auburn Family genuinely loves it. Everyone has so much fun at the football games, the athletes all really support each other and everyone here is different, but gets along. There's a lot of diversity here in interests, personalities and backgrounds, yet everyone shares the same intense love for Auburn.
Q: What do you miss most about home?
A: I miss the mountains and the rivers since I'm from Washington. I miss fly fishing and being outside there.
Q: How do you plan to impact the team early?
A: I want to support all my teammates and be as helpful as possible, especially at meets because meet days are so crazy. We always have a million things going on, so anything that I can do to help it go smoother is a big help. I want everything to flow easier and be less stressful, so I hope to be a huge help to my teammates. It really is vital.
Q: What is your mindset before you go for your event?
A: My mindset is very positive. I never think about what could go wrong, and I usually, in my warm-up time, check on making sure I keep my legs back and keeping my elbows in. I check to see if my horse is doing okay, just everything honestly. I make sure to have a smile on my face and just lay it all out there when it comes to competing.
Q: What's your major and what made you want to pursue that major?
A: Animal Sciences. Horseback riding as a kid is definitely what made me want to pursue a major in animal sciences. I love when our vets come to the barn so I can watch and help them with whatever they're doing. Ideally, I would want to be a sports medicine equine vet. I want to do whatever to help the horses since this sport can be so hard on them. We treat them like varsity athletes, so I would want to be in that world of helping them.
Q: What makes equestrian unique from other sports at Auburn?
A: I think it's unique because our partners are animals that we can't talk to. The horse that you ride in a pattern changes every time. You have to be very flexible as a rider in order to have a good ride with whatever horse you get. You only get four minutes to warm up on a horse that you've never ridden before. The most unique thing is how versatile we have to be with it. Our whole lives we've been showing the same one or two horses, and then we come here and it's always a different horse.
Q: If you could give a message to the Auburn Family, what would it be?
A: I would definitely encourage the Auburn Family to come out to our meets. They're super fun. We're very thankful for how much support our team gets. People will stop me on campus and tell me how awesome it is that I'm on the equestrian team, and that's really cool. That would be my message is just thank you everyone and just keep the support coming!
