These Rancho Santa Margarita Teens Keep Equestrian Spirit Alive

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — If you rolled through the In-N-Out on Santa Margarita Parkway sometime last week, you might have seen two horses waiting patiently in the parking lot.

For many, the sight was enough to require a photo to share on social media and inspire a laugh. For south Orange County horse lovers, the presence of two horses in the In-N-Out parking lot served as a reminder that the equestrian community is alive in Rancho Santa Margarita.

The horses belonged to Savy Keune and Mariska Simon, both 14. Keune rides Austin, a palomino horse of unknown breed with a black mane. Simon rides Cowboy, a palomino quarter horse.

Keune is a freshman at Trabuco Hills High School. Simon is an eighth grader at Rancho Santa Margarita Middle School. Simon said Cowboy is like "[her] soulmate in horse form."

Keune and Austin have known each other for three years, and the pair clicked instantly when they met, Keune told Patch. Both girls bonded taking their horses out on trails spread throughout Rancho Santa Margarita, including one that takes them to the In-N-Out on Santa Margarita Parkway.

Equestrian Celebrities In The Making

"That was our second time going" to In-N-Out, Keune said. "We explore a lot to find trails. We'll see where we are able to take the horses, and where we aren't ... It kind of just depends on your surroundings. We're looking for new places, [and] that's why we started going to In-N-Out."

The local burger joint isn't the only place the girls and their horses have visited. Keune and Simon frequented a trail near O'Neill Regional Park. The uphill trail is about an hourlong ride, with a bench at the peak of the trail that offers picturesque views of Rancho Santa Margarita, the girls said.

"We haul butt up that hill," Keune said. "When we get to the top, we tie the horses down to let them rest and loosen their cinches. We don't want to give them a heart attack."

Noise Training To Keep Them Safe

To prepare the horses for public riding, Keune and Simon recreated noises that may spook or frighten them. Efforts to desensitize them include bouncing balls or rattling cans to mimic loud noises they may come across while riding public trails.

Noise training is important, the pair said.

"Sometimes we come into contact with dogs that are barking uncontrollably, [and] there was this one time where this dog was off the leash, and he just came up and sniffed the horses," Simon said. "It was fine, but you never know what's going to happen."

Horseback Riding For Sport

Along with recreational riding, both Keune and Simon participate in horse sorting, a sport in which riders move cows out of a group from one pen to another.

It may sound easy, but cows are numbered and must move through a pen in numerical order. Keune and Simon placed first and second in the last horse sorting event they participated in, Kenue said.

Keune started riding horses as soon as she was old enough to learn, she said. The high-schooler grew up on a 10-acre plot of land in Trabuco Canyon. Keune's mother grew up in the dressage world and encouraged her to find a connection with horses when she was young, she added.

Keune appreciated dressage, a form of horseback riding that looks like dancing and results from extensive training. But that style is not for her — or for Austin. She prefers in-the-dirt Western riding, a style that offers her more excitement, she said.

Riding with Keune is something close to a dream for Simon. They bonded over their love of horses.

Simon's family supported her interest in horseback riding, she said. Her bond with Keune allowed her to make riding a part of her everyday life, she added.

Where Can You See Them Next?

The horse-riding duo will make an appearance at a Saturday sorting competition at Circle S Ranch in Silverado, and the Rancho Santa Margarita community was invited to watch as Keune and Simon compete.

If you can't make it, fear not. Just visit the In-N-Out on Santa Margarita Parkway for a chance to see Austin and Cowboy enjoying a midday lunch with Keune and Simon.