Leah Sotil, Horseback Riding Trainer
Leah Sotil, 15, is a competitive rider at 4×4 stables, where she also teaches younger children how to ride horses.
She is from Lima, Peru, but now lives in Coconut Creek, Florida. Her mother, Patricia Berrocal, had Sotil in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and they have both been living in Florida ever since.
Sotil has been riding horses since she was six-years-old and is now an advanced rider. Her father is the first person that introduced her to horseback riding.
“My dad took me to a stable once when I was six to ride a horse. I really enjoyed it, so he signed me up for lessons and I’ve been riding ever since,” said Sotil.
She says that she enjoys teaching younger kids because they remind her of when she was little. Sotil believes that riding horses is one of the most dangerous sports there is, because if you are not careful your horse can go crazy and throw you off. She wants to make sure that when children are handling a horse, they are doing it correctly.
“I have been riding at the stable for so long that I became one of the advanced riders, so they let me help out younger kids that might need help,” she said. “I even get paid, not a lot, but it’s a start.”
The trainer also has other hobbies for when she’s not riding horses or teaching younger children how to ride. After all, she’s still a teenager in high school. She enjoys hanging out with friends and doing other active things.
“I do dance, tennis and I do cosmetology on family members or friends that come over to my house,” she said.
Sotil is looking forward to traveling to many places when she’s older. She is from Peru, so she goes there a lot. She believes it is a great experience. Even though she loves riding horses and training younger kids, she also loves fashion.
“I would like to travel to Greece, France, Spain and Peru,” said Sotil. “There are so many beautiful designs displayed in buildings and in clothes.”
She believes that although she loves horses and nature, she would like to go into fashion design as career.