Horsing Around

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —  Jayme Beckham is living what most little girls only dream of.

“I was a kid when we got our first horse,” said Beckham, a senior at Trabuco Hills High. “I started taking lessons on a pony and eventually moved up to riding an Arabian.”

What a ride it’s been: Beckham has won eight U.S. national riding championships, three U.S. reserve (second place) championships and one Canadian reserve championship.

What began as a hobby for her mother, Julie, has turned into a lifestyle for Jayme.

“[Riding] was always something I wanted to do,” said Julie, who works part-time as a secretary for the Saddleback Unified School District.

“We went to a show in Northern California when [Jayme] was 10 or 11. I rode, and then she rode. One of the judges came up after the show and patted Jayme on the leg and said, ‘When are you going to teach your mother how to ride this horse?’ It was the funniest thing.”

Jayme Beckham has competed in several categories: Western and English saddle and sidesaddle.

The Beckhams own two horses: Lace Valentine, nicknamed Lacy, and Kentucky Klassic, nicknamed Clark. Julie and her husband, Geoff, gave Lacy to Jayme on her 16th birthday. The family purchased Clark in June.

“Clark is the first horse that ever dumped me,” Jayme Beckham said, laughing. “I’d never fallen off in all my years of jumping, riding sidesaddle, all the shows--nothing.”

But all is forgiven, obviously, as she nuzzles the gelding at a boarding facility in San Juan Capistrano.

Because Beckham has won so many national titles, she is well-known on the junior circuit. Sometimes an owner with a horse to sell will contact her and request she ride their horse at a show, in order to let prospective buyers get a look. In that case, the owner might drive the horse to the show and meet the Beckhams there.

Owning and showing horses can be an expensive hobby. Lacy cost $5,000 and Clark $8,000. Aside from the price tag, there is boarding, vet bills, equipment and travel. The Beckhams own a horse trailer. Lower-level shows are at Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Del Mar and Santa Barbara. The higher-level shows are in Nevada and Northern California. Nationals are in Oklahoma City, Okla.

So, that comes to . . .

“You don’t want to know,” Julie said. “We intentionally never add it up.”

But the rewards are priceless.

“I think the thing I like most is the relationship you get with the horses and the people,” said Beckham, who also runs track at Trabuco Hills and had played soccer. She’s sitting out her senior season of soccer to spend more time riding.

“And the experiences. I’ve had to learn and grow up pretty fast, because you have so many disappointments and so many exciting things happen to your horses.

“There are so many ups and downs that you learn to deal with things in life. You put a lot of effort into things and sometimes things don’t work out and it’s out of your control completely. And you have to get on with life.”

The Beckhams credit instructor Wendy Griffith for much of Jayme’s success.

“[Jayme] has natural ability,” Julie said, “but she’s had a great trainer. She remembers what it’s like to be a kid and want to ride every horse she sees. A lot of adults forget that feeling, especially when it becomes a business. Jayme’s been very lucky to have a teacher who has a love of animals.”

Griffith, 33, a Garden Grove native, began to teach Jayme when she was 11 or 12. Griffith now is a trainer and instructor at Ventura Farms in Thousand Oaks, but used to train Beckham in Sun City.

“She has timing, balance, intuitiveness, common sense,” Griffith said. “She is coordinated, sensitive to horses, very intelligent and therefore quick-thinking. And she looks good on a horse. She has ring smarts. She’s good at positioning herself when she shows. She has presence. She sparkles. She has a lot of confidence.”

Now that Beckham is 18, she has graduated from the junior circuit to the senior. But more importantly, she will have to decide whether she wants to ride in college. Julie Beckham said her daughter has won $8,000 in scholarships for winning riding competitions.

“She wants to go to college for an education,” Julie said. Jayme, who has a 4.62 grade-point average, is interested in California, Stanford and UCLA. Her older twin bothers, Geoff Jr. and Gerry, attend Cal and play on the school’s soccer team.

Wherever she goes, she said she already has achieved her greatest accomplishment.

“Mostly, it’s earning the respect of other people,” she said. “Like, seeing someone [at shows] from Georgia or Texas who knows your name.”