Meet Sponsored Rider:
Meghan Benge

Riding Warehouse has the pleasure of sponsoring Meghan Benge, a para dressage rider and lifelong equestrian. Meghan has competed in everything from hunters to international-level combined driving and para dressage. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art, she runs her own business, Meghan Benge Photography and Graphic Design. Our Riding Warehouse crew has thoroughly enjoyed supporting her equestrian endeavors throughout the years, and we invite you to read about Meghan's horseback riding journey to discover more about her.

In 1990, my mom was watching the evening news when a story about the local therapeutic riding center, named SIRE, came on. She thought it might be something I would benefit from. Little did she know how taking me to the barn for the first time would change the entire trajectory of my life. SIRE was founded in the Houston area in 1983 and still exists today. The mission as stated on their website reads, “...to provide a community where horses help people with disabilities and challenges to live their best life.” Back when I started, they had a single location that has now grown to three different locations throughout the Houston area. My mom signed me up for their program after seeing that news story, and I was hooked on horses!

I was born with pseudoachondroplasia dwarfism, a condition that results in shortened stature and orthopedic complications. It was around the time that I started riding that I began to realize all my classmates at school were quickly outgrowing and outpacing me. I was no longer able to participate in sports activities or PE like I had previously. I loved that when I was horseback riding, my height, strength, and speed were of zero importance. Horses are the ultimate equalizer. Additionally, what young girl doesn’t love the beauty and kindness of horses?

My whole family was soon involved as well. My older sister began riding, my mom started carriage driving, and before you know it we had a farm and were breeding Welsh Ponies. In 1998, my parents and doctors decided that my scoliosis (curvature of the spine that is a typical complication for my condition) had grown too severe, and I had major spinal fusion surgery just before my fourteenth birthday. The recovery from this was long; my parents nudged me toward carriage driving, and I began competing with several of our Welsh Ponies.

It was through driving that we met a local instructor and farrier, Bill Peacock. Bill ended up being a major influence in my journey with horses and is a dear family friend to this day. A little while prior, my parents had gone to a local breeder to purchase a young Welsh Pony stallion who was bred for driving. When I turned sixteen, I decided maybe I wanted to show him. My parents were lukewarm on the idea. I remember calling Bill and asking him if he thought I could do it. His reply was, “Heavens yes!” Then he made it possible. Ziggy, our stallion, and I competed to the Advanced Level in combined driving, eventually traveling from Texas to the East Coast to do so. Without Bill's guidance, I never would have had the courage to do so.

It was at one of these East Coast shows that I met another lifelong friend and supporter. Miranda “Randy” Cadwell kept making a point of talking to my very quiet and reserved self whenever she could. I soon learned that Randy and her sister, Keady, were then the coaches for the USA Para Driving teams. I qualified for and competed at my first Para Combined Driving World Championships in 2002, where we won a Team Bronze medal. We returned to Germany a few years later in 2008, and won an Individual Gold medal and a Team Silver medal—a special achievement and an experience I feel so lucky to have had!

After returning home from this championship and recovering from another surgery, Randy made it possible for me to do something I had dreamed about for a while but didn’t think I could do. That was returning to riding. Now in my twenties with a fused spine and a new hip, I didn’t think I would be physically able. Randy convinced me to try. Her FEI-level driving pony at the time was also an accomplished dressage pony. Randy ran next to me the first time I trotted, and her spicy driving pony was a total gentleman with me on his back. The little field I rode in at their barn was on the tiniest of hills. When I started trotting on my own, he would trot up and automatically walk back down. I was able to gain enough confidence back to start riding my own pony, Zoey. It has, of course, completely snowballed from there.

After competing to the FEI level in combined driving, Zoey took me to the FEI level in para dressage. Now I have Rudy, a pony who, without the confidence given to me by all the people past and present who help me, I would never have dreamt of riding. For me, that has been the greatest gift of this wild ride I have been on: people who believe in me even when I don’t believe in myself. Riding Warehouse believed in me, and I wanted to be sponsored by them when the opportunity came because they represent a wide variety of disciplines and equestrians. Riding Warehouse also has great customer service, and I like the fun culture they have created for riders like me. I of course have had a few ponies along the way who’ve made me feel worthy and capable in a body that sometimes seems like it hates me!

For better or worse, I grew up in a household where I was told that I could do anything anyone else could do, just like anyone else. Here in para sport, my differences weren’t just acknowledged but accepted and even celebrated. No hiding in the corner here. Ever been at a competitor’s party and had your teammate dance right out of their wheelchair? Then without missing a beat, two big guys from another team pick her up and immediately return to dancing? I have.

Now, looking forward, I have to “start riding” again, as the end of 2023 brought another surgery and another new hip. While my pain levels have decreased, the muscles in my left hip have been rather angry as they also corrected my limb length discrepancy. Meaning, they stretched all those muscles a significant amount in one go! I am almost cleared for riding again though, and overall, feeling much better. So here we go again!

We hope you enjoyed reading about sponsored rider Meghan Benge’s life journey as a para equestrian. We encourage following Meghan's journey alongside us to help discover another side of the equestrian experience, and we invite you to shop some of Meghan’s favorite products below.

We also suggest reading more of her expert articles if you are interested! In the meantime, Meghan would like to leave us with this piece of advice:

"Enjoy all of it! Grooming your horse is just as important as winning a big show. You don’t have to have a particular look or even be athletic to be successful with horses."

Stay up to date with Meghan by following her on these platforms: