This summer, high school students may choose from an array of activities including bagging groceries, playing in a baseball league or cruising on the lake in Southeast Missouri.

But one Saxony Lutheran High School student is spending most of the summer representing Team USA in a horse riding competition.

"I miss a lot of time hanging with friends from home because I'm out of town quite a bit, which at times can get stressful," said Nick Murphy, a senior-to-be this fall at the Jackson school. "But when I take a step back and look at the overall picture, the World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and hopefully all of the hard work will pay off."

Scheduled for July 3 through 11 in Oklahoma City, the American Quarter Horse Association Youth World Cup will feature teams from 17 countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Dominican Republic, Italy, Czech Republic and Australia. Five individuals will represent Team USA. Joining Murphy on the team are two members from Texas, one from Oklahoma and one from New Jersey.

Murphy will compete in reining, which involves a rider guiding his or her horse through a controlled pattern of movements. He also expects to participate in cutting, in which a horse is judged on its ability to separate a cow from a cattle herd and keep the animal from returning to the herd. Another event Murphy may compete in is Western Pleasure, in which the horse is evaluated for smooth, relaxed pleasure riding.

A rider since he was in fourth grade, Murphy said preparation for the event has been ongoing for several years.

Most days Murphy begins his training at 6 a.m. on a ranch south of Oklahoma City, though he has spent time training in Southeast Missouri. Murphy and his teammates are on horseback most days, either working with show horses or riding younger ones to get them trained for competition.

This summer Murphy has spent extra time honing skills he'll use during World Cup competitions that involve cattle. Although at most competitions he usually is able to use a horse with which he is familiar, the World Cup is different, Murphy said.

"At the World Cup you actually draw for the horses that you ride," Murphy said. "You don't get to ride your own horses. So that adds another variable."

Murphy isn't the first member of his family to participate in horse competition.

Murphy said his parents and both sets of grandparents have been heavily involved with horses for many years. His dad, Michael, was a world champion in 1982. His mother, Linda, was a winner at the largest single-breed horse show in the world, the All-American Quarter Horse Congress, a year later.

"So there is a lot of history there," Murphy said. "It's something that we do, as a family, every day."

Michael Murphy said he's enjoyed watching his son develop and make sacrifices to get to this stage in his career.

"I think that the horses, and particularly the sense of ownership or responsibility they provide, and the work ethic that he is developing, are providing Nick with some valuable life lessons that will stay with him forever," he said.

"This summer should be exciting," he said. "And I'm excited to see what the future holds for him."

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