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By Ken Keuffel
Pfeiffer University

Pfeiffer freshman Gabrielle Crawford is a business major who sees the horse breeding business as a potential career path after college. She’s specifically interested in the possibility of working in the equine insurance industry as a way of combining her love of horses with her professional career. Pfeiffer’s unique four-day instructional week allows her the flexibility she needs to pursue that goal while continuing to show and train her horses – and gain some of the practical experience that will set her apart when she’s ready to seek employment. Pfeiffer is training her in business best practice, but when it comes to horses, Crawford already knows what she’s talking about, and she has the medals to prove it.
She excels in Reined Cow Horse, a demanding equine sport of the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA), in which riders are judged on how well they can guide their horses through various intricate patterns, separate a cow from a herd, or “control” a single cow by a fence in an arena area. Crawford trains for or participates in Reined Cow Horse competitions around the country.
“I love it,” said Crawford, who lives in Albemarle. “It showcases my horses and how talented they are. It gives me such an amazing feeling; it’s such an adrenaline rush and it is so much fun. I also just love horses.”
Crawford said that she got into Reined Cow Horse only about two and half years ago, unlike many of her peers who grew up on ranches and have been working with horses for far longer. Despite these limitations, she has become quite adept at what all Reined Cow Horse competitors must do, namely getting a cow to do exactly what she wants from atop a horse. She starts by “boxing” a cow to gain control of it and to make it respect her horse. She then takes the cow down an arena fence with the goal of getting it to make a right turn and a left one. After that, she and her horse move in tandem with the cow in such a way that the cow makes full circles in different directions.
There is a separate requirement in a Reined Cow Horse competition that involves the horse and rider only. Here, Crawford effortlessly guides her horse about an entire arena until she makes it stop, assume a stationary pose, spin around several times, and move backwards and forwards slowly. She also gets her horse to move at full speed and then stop at her command.
Crawford has also participated in American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) competitions, in which she has won a world title in a category called Level 1 Youth Boxing. This where a rider and their horse aim to “hold a cow” in a prescribed area of an arena for 50 seconds. She has her sights set on winning titles in more advanced categories of NRCHA and AQHA competitions.
Crawford credits all this success to several factors. One has been an all-in commitment to the sport. After attending Gray Stone Day School (next to Pfeiffer’s Misenheimer campus) for several years, she completed her last two years of high school online, so that she could compete in shows. At one point, these were happening every other weekend, and Crawford’s parents would transport and/or accompany her to them — a practice that continues to this day.
“I’m very fortunate to have such amazing parents,” she said. “They’re willing to travel with me everywhere I go. They’re always there with me.”
The horses Crawford rides in shows are trained all year, but they are not in North Carolina. Three horses are in Virginia, and one is in Kentucky. When she’s not participating in a competition, she travels to those states on weekends to train with the horses.
Crawford has been able to train horses and/or show them in distant places, including her most important competitions in Texas and Oklahoma, and still keep up with her Pfeiffer studies because of the University’s unique “Falcon Friday” schedule. The no-classes-on-Fridays benefit of a four-day instructional week at Pfeiffer gives its students the schedule flexibility to pursue special interests, participate in internships that can turn into job possibilities, or work to help fund their education. A recent survey indicated that students are overwhelmingly positive about the four-day week, giving the program 4.79 “thumbs up” points on a scale of 1-5.
Crawford’s also super organized and focused. “I keep track of everything I have to do in a planner,” she said. At the beginning of the University’s school week, she often tries to get as much schoolwork as possible done ahead of time so she can have more free time on the weekends. And during the many hours spent traveling to and from shows, she attacks schoolwork while her parents drive.
Crawford wants to stay involved with horses for the long haul, and she’s enjoying combining her passion for all things equine with her new love of Pfeiffer. Her riding blanket is a black and gold pattern, and she proudly wears her Pfeiffer gear when she’s out of the ring.
“I’m so happy to be at Pfeiffer,” she said. “I’ve found it to be an incredibly supportive environment that has allowed me to simultaneously pursue two very important goals – my horses and my education.”