“Hopefully in the future I’ll become an Olympic rider,” Hall, now 14, told the Homer News. The impressive collection of photos, ribbons and trophies spread around the walls, bookshelves and tabletops of the Portage ranch house adds weight to her words.

Her father, Henry Tomingas, speaks of other goals for Alicia, such as the International Federation of Equestrian Sports Children’s International Jumping Finals in Jalapa, Mexico, in December. That would be an opportunity for Alicia to compete at a new level, as well as meet her peers from around the world.

To qualify, she must first hold her own at the Oaks Blenheim Fall Tournament in September near San Juan Capistrano, in southern California.

Those goals are not unlike Alicia’s riding: one well-placed hurdle after another. Anyone who saw her compete in August at the United States Equestrian Federation Inc. Pony Jumper National Championships in Lexington, Ky., knows that clearing hurdles is something Alicia does well.

“I got my first horse when I was 4, but my dad would always take me out when we’d go to Hawaii and ride on trail rides before I was 4, so I pretty much have been riding horses my whole life,” Alicia said.

Her ability to ride is a talent all her own. Her mom, Ruth, grew up on a farm in Maine. Tomingas grew up on a ranch in Wyoming.

“But I’m the only one in the family that rides,” Alicia said.

In 2004, her first year of competition, Alicia was the Alaska champion and reserve champion, second place, in several categories. The following year she went out of state to take 40th place out 116 entrants in the large pony hunter competition at the USEF Pony Finals. Last year, she advanced into the top 10 in the pony jumper national championships and was reserve champion in the Kentucky Summer Classic. Alicia also took third place in pony jumpers at the Colorado Hunter Jumper Year End Awards. In February, she placed sixth in the children and adult jumper competition in the Arizona Winter Show Circuit.

Formal riding is something Alicia learned from Linda McCary at Dimond H Ranch in Anchorage.

“Very often, whenever Dad and I go out of state, we try to hook up with trainers,” Alicia said, adding that she also critiques herself, thanks to hours of videos taken by Tomingas.

“My dad videotapes my shows and I can go back and watch myself and fix what I’ve been doing wrong. And my dad buys all these horse movies about famous trainers, so I get to watch what they do.”

Still, that doesn’t satisfy Alicia’s desire to ride year round like the Lower 48 riders against whom she competes.

“I get to ride about two and a half months a year, but they have indoor arenas and world-class trainers,” she said. “It’s kind of just me and my dad, biting our fingernails.”

As an Alaskan, Alicia also faces the challenge of getting her horses to competition sites, which she does with the help of FedEx.

Her riding is not without injury. On one occasion, a horse slipped and landed on Alicia’s leg. In 2006, her horse tried to refuse a jump, but ended up falling through a fence.

“I didn’t let go of the reins when I fell, so then I slingshot back and landed on a pole and popped my hip out of place,” Alicia said. “Now my right leg’s longer than the left.”

Injuries aside, the 14-year-old is good at what she does. She gives the credit to her horses.

“Most people, when they ride a horse, they try to make the horse do it a certain way. They tell the horse how it’s going to be. I’ve learned from experience that you can’t do that. So, I get on and let them do their own thing, and it’s been working really good for me,” Alicia said. “It’s me and the horse out there and we’re making our own decisions. You never really know what’s going to happen. With horses, there’s no end to the mystery.”