After more than 10 years of dedication to his sport, East senior and equestrian Nathan Klein can finally say he’s made it. Years of hard work, good coaching and undivided attention to his sport has contributed to his journey to qualifying for the Special Olympics.
“I was pretty ecstatic when I found out, but at the same time my reaction time was kind of skewed,” Klein said. “I had a delayed reaction. I was excited, but it wasn’t like leaping for joy; a lot of it was mental, just like, ‘Holy crap!’”
The Special Olympics is an opportunity for people with intellectual and physical disabilities to participate in a wide range of sporting events and competitions, with the goal of inclusivity. Every four years, the USA Games, administered by the Special Olympics committee, take place. Next year is the first time equestrian will be implemented into the USA Games competition. Klein gets to fly in a private jet down to Orlando, Fla., where he will be one of four equestrian athletes for the North Carolina team competing in the 2022 Games.
“All of the individual sport coaches were on the Zoom call when athlete selections were being made,” said Klein’s coach, Heather Glazer. “Only two ladies and two gentlemen were chosen to be part of the NC Equestrian Team. I have to admit that my heart jumped hearing Nathan’s name being read as an athlete candidate.”
In order to qualify for the national-level Games, Klein took part in each State Olympics from 2012 to 2019. After winning a gold medal at the state level in 2019, he qualified for the USA Special Olympics. He says COVID definitely impacted how many shows he was able to attend in the last two years, but since the sport is inherently socially-distanced, practice wasn’t put on hold.
Klein’s journey to get to this point began when he transferred to Bright Star Stables at age 5, and two years later began competing.
“I started riding right about kindergarten because [my parents] thought it would be a good kind of therapy for me,” Klein said. “After that it kind of just…never really stopped.”
He says it’s difficult for people to really understand equestrian unless they have experience with it themselves. The sport involves different styles of riding, varieties of obstacles and courses that the athletes and their horses race through. His specialty is in a type of racing called a trail pattern—something often unfamiliar to even those knowledgeable in the world of horses.
“Everyone sees the jumps, everyone sees the races, but a trail pattern is all about just being meticulous,” Klein said. “It’s just an obstacle course like you would do as a kid–but it’s on a horse.”
Klein says that this represents a major turning point in his life; he was accepted into the University of Arizona, his dream school because of the equestrian program offered there.
For the Games in Florida next year, a new style of competition will be introduced for the first time. Klein has been riding his own horse for previous competitions; for the Special Olympics the horse you get is luck-based.
“You have about a week to get to know [your horse], and make the most of it. They also do that for college equestrian team stuff,” Klein said. “So, if I like the randomized style, then that might be my springboard into college equestrian teams.”
Throughout this whole process, Klein says his support system has been his mom, who has watched him show countless times over the last 10 years. He also credits his coaches:
“[My coaches] are an amazing family and they’re practically my second parents at this point,” Klein said. “They never quit, and this is kind of their magnum opus of achievements.”
Glazer says that Klein’s extremely passionate and educated about horses, and always has a fun fact to share.
“I’ve often wondered if he’s taught me more than I’ve taught him over the years,” Glazer said.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Klein.
Kudos to Nathan Klein for his accomplishment.