The Tribune

EQUESTRIAN athlete Peyton Wong hasn’t allowed COVID-19 or the freshman blues to get in the way of pursuing her training.

The Queen’s College graduate began her freshman year at the University of Tampa this fall and will ride for the UTampa Equestrian Team under trainer Karey McGee. Wong is a business major, currently studying international business and marketing.

Wong is no stranger to success in the show ring. In high school she rode her horse Shadowfax to multiple victories in Jumper classes under trainer Kimberly Johnson of Camperdown Equestrian Centre.

A three-time finalist for the Equestrian Bahamas Junior Sportsmanship Award, she also captained the Queen’s College Interscholastic Equestrian Team and represented Team Bahamas at the IEA International Invitational in Conyers, Georgia, last February.

Wong looks forward to taking her riding to the next level.

Although competitions are currently suspended, she focuses on remaining show-ready by training with her team at a riding facility about 30 minutes away from the University of Tampa campus.

“The plan for this semester is to take the time and train since shows are cancelled,” Wong said. “In the spring semester we will be having 10 shows where we will be travelling all over Florida, some parts of Georgia and maybe Alabama depending on the shows.”

The UTampa Spartans compete in Region 5, Zone 5, of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA).

This highly competitive Zone encompasses colleges and universities across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.