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By Guest Columnist Sue Carter
ZEBULON - Taylor Hampton is an upcoming junior at Pike County High, a member of the National Honor Society of High School Scholars, and an outstanding sixteen-year-old with a strong belief in God and the heart of a competitor. Taylor hopes to earn a college scholarship in track or volleyball, but she also excels at barrel racing with her current horse, Morgana (Mo-Mo).
Her favorite part of racing is her relationship with Mo-Mo through which she has learned and developed patience and trust. The growth Taylor has made over the years of competing at top-level shows has resulted in her mastering quiet confidence in any fast and intense sport. Taylor said, “Trusting in God and knowing God’s protection helps me focus on what I’m doing and to not get nervous. Everything around me becomes muscle memory as adrenaline rushes in, and my entire run feels like it is in slow motion.”
In 2014, Taylor tragically lost her first barrel horse, Pippin, in a severe thunderstorm. Taylor found Pippin barely alive under a fallen oak tree. The decision to put Pippin down devastated Taylor; however, Jeremiah 29:11 helped sustain her: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
Most of Taylor’s successes include last year and this year’s competitions which were held in Perry, GA. In 2018, she competed in the Triple Crown Supershow, a national event which draws many elite riders. Tay and Mo-Mo placed 7th out of 600 riders in the fastest division. That same year she competed in Youth World where she placed 4th in the second group of finalists: that competition included over 1,000 riders. This summer, Taylor competed in the 2019 Triple Crown where she placed 23rd overall in a group of over 700 riders.
Taylor Hampton is an athlete from a fine family. Her father, Troy Hampton, is a sales representative for A.D.M. Animal Nutrition. Her mother is Terry Hampton, an experienced personal trainer, and her brother, Zach Hampton, helped Pike County win the state baseball championship; right now, Zach is attending ABAC on a baseball scholarship.