Project by: Stella Propp (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Preethi
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Jess

Description of the Project:

Final Reflection on Learning:

My riding trainer sat me down a few weeks ago and said exactly these words: “Stella, your position looks amazing, especially throughout these last three months. Have you been doing something without my knowing?” I smiled and thought to myself, this assignment is more than just an honors project.

Thinking about the physics behind so much of what I do as a rider, has actually translated to my riding itself. I have significantly improved, and for that, I am so grateful. I had so much fun on this assignment and just want to thank Preethi for all of our help. Although I am done chronicling my research and learning, I am not done thinking about the physics behind horseback riding!

This project has been so incredible. Getting to work on it in this trimester just deepened my knowledge from the previous trimester. It has been an absolute pleasure and my work and research have really transformed me as a rider (for the better)! The link to my final project presentation is below. It shows all of my learning that I have done these past few months!! Enjoy.

Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):

Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):

Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):

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T2 Update:

Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):

For the first three weeks, I went back through my 10th-grade physics work to brush up on my knowledge and met with Preethi to discuss any thoughts, questions, concerns I had with that material. We used this time as a physics review to make sure that I was ready to take the next step and apply it to something important in my life.

Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):

Weeks 4-6 were very information intensive. We discussed and analyzed forces and momentum with regard to horseback riding in general. I made up example scenarios and analyzed “all things physics” within them and came back to Preethu with my notes to discuss what conclusions I had come to, questions, and whether she agreed or disagreed with my points.

Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):

Weeks 7-9 were by far the most intense and interesting. We started analyzing videos of my own riding and drew FBDs, analyzed all forces involved, and with the help of our physics knowledge, tried to improve my actual technique on horseback. Believe it or not, it worked and I had a higher success rate in my actual competitions because of my improvement in technique and form.

I look forward to continuing this project throughout the course of trimester three!