Student and staff member races to finish line

People at Lyndon State College all have unique attributes, and one member of the custodial staff is no exception.

Chris Seymour, a custodian at LSC, competed in the National Barrel Horse Association World Finals in October 2010. She raced her horse, Kon's Smooth Legacy, who is a registered eight year old paint who broke his leg in November 2007 and was almost put down and veterinarians diagnosed the horse would never be ridden again.

She took place in three runs, completing the first run in 18.2 seconds, the second in 18.4 seconds, and because of her scoring in the first two races she competed in the jackpot run which took place just after a chiropractor looked at Legacy and helped pop her shoulder back into place. The jackpot run was completed in 17.2 seconds, which was just over a second of the winning run. Seymour made about $400 for the run but spent much more to compete in the event. She spent $940 in fuel alone to drive down and back.

 "What a blast! Just seeing the venue itself down there was an experience. It was the largest ever used. They usually average 700 -800 horses and it was 1404 horses racing this time which was their largest ever competition," Seymour said, adding that the experience itself was what made this whole trip worthwhile.

 "One thing I noticed that I didn't see at nationals but worlds, 90 percent of horses are on some sort of supplement, or enhancement. They are spending about $500 a month just in supplements. It surprised the hell out of me. It makes me think of the baseball players, illegal for them but legal for our horses," she said.

Due to how well they did in the competition, Legacy is already qualified for nationals in August and worlds in October. Nationals will take place in Lexington, Va. Seymour is not sure if they will be able to compete in either, but plans to continue to race.

                  Seymour plans to continue to race Legacy as long as she is able to. A horse that almost was put down to a broken leg or at the best case scenario used as a breeding horse is not just able to compete in races but excelled in her runs.

                  Seymour graduated in December with her associate degree in business administration at LSC. She is now going for her bachelor's degree and anticipates graduating in 2012. She works full time and is currently taking two classes.

"It is sometimes difficult to work full time and go to school," she said. She is working with her boss to not do overtime on days that she has classes. A normal day for Seymour begins on campus at 4:30 a.m. and ends between 1 to 4 p.m. but even once she finishes work, she still has chores with the horses, being a mother, her own homework, and if there is time, she can relax before she has to do it all over again the next day.

Once she gets her bachelor's degree, Seymour wants to do something with equine.

"There are just so many possibilities out there. Something eventually will pop into my head and I will just go for it," she said.

It took almost three years to get her associate degree due to being a part-time student. She also continued taking summer courses.

"It's kind of neat," she said, "To have your name called and go up and get my degree. A December graduation is a December graduation, it's just the fact I finally got it done and I'm still plugging on."