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Taking the Reins: Alexandra Stevens, MD, PhD

December 29, 2022

January 2023

In this edition, Alexandra Stevens, MD, PhD, shares her love for horses and how riding and teaching others inspired her to go into a career working with children.

Jill Sederstrom

Jill Sederstrom is a journalist based in Kansas City.

Alexandra Stevens, MD, PhD

Alexandra Stevens, MD, PhD, is assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and specializes in pediatric leukemia at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

 

 

 


How did your love for horseback riding begin?

I was definitely a horse-crazy kid. The first stuffed animal I had that I was very attached to was a horse, but growing up in New York City, there wasn’t much chance to ride horses except for pony rides.

Then when I was 6, we moved to Connecticut. In third grade, I met one of my best friends, Annabelle Wirth (now Petriella), who was a horseback rider, and I started riding with her. I absolutely loved it. It was everything that a third-grade child dreams of, and I took lessons one to three times a week.

I also went to an all-girls summer riding camp each year, where I competed in three-day events and worked with a phenomenal trainer.

In seventh grade, I started getting in trouble for not raising my hand or participating in class discussions. I was reading novels under the table, and I started to get bad grades. My parents met with my teacher and decided I was not being challenged enough, so I switched to a more competitive school. My dad asked me what would motivate me to get straight A’s, and I said, “Oh, well, if you got me a horse, I would do that.” I made him a budget of what it would cost, and even though it was a huge expense, he agreed that if I got straight A’s all year he’d buy me a horse. I don’t really think he expected me to follow through, but I started working really hard, with a failure-is-not-an-option attitude, and I got straight A’s. The deal continued through school, and I got to keep my horse as long as I got straight A’s. So, I only got straight A’s through middle and high school. My poor dad – he often says it was the best and worst investment of his life.

]Dr. Stevens (at right) in 2007 gives a riding lesson to Arianna Futerfas on the bridle path in Central Park.
Dr. Stevens (at right) in 2007 gives a riding lesson to Arianna
Futerfas on the bridle path in Central Park.

What was your horse like?

The first horse I got was a bad match for me. Eventually my trainer purchased her from me, and I got a horse who was much better suited for me, named Nickel. Nickel and I were an amazing team, and I had him from the time I was 14 years old until I was 31 years old.

When did you begin to teach horseback riding lessons?

Taking care of a horse is very expensive, and my parents were only able to contribute so much. Everything else I had to cover myself. My favorite way that we made money was through a business I co-owned with Annabelle where we made shipping wraps for horses to wear on their legs. We started sewing them in fun fabrics for ourselves to save money, but people around the barn started asking about them, so we made it an official business. We would drive around after school and on weekends delivering orders to horse supply stores around New York and Connecticut. We made money, and it was great fun to boot.

I also made ends meet by riding other people’s horses, and sometimes I’d give lessons to other kids. I loved it all.

Were you able to keep riding through college?

I did take my horse with me to college at Duke University.

I quickly ran through all the money I had to pay for his board, and the barn was almost a half hour away. To take care of him the way I thought it should be done, I was at the barn twice a day, morning and night. It was a lot, and I was also trying to balance my classes and have a social life. Nickel had previously had ligament issues, and I was concerned anyone I sold him to would run him into the ground. So, I found a lovely 13-year-old girl who took Nickel temporarily; she agreed to care for him, and her parents agreed to pay for his vet bills and other expenses during that time. It worked out really well.

I still did some riding in college. I always found it grounded me. When things are crazy, it’s always nice to go to the barn and groom a horse or muck out a stall. I find caring for another being (human or animal) puts everything into perspective.

Were you still teaching?

After college, I took a gap year before medical school, and that summer I went back to my childhood riding camp to be a counselor. It was one of the best summers of my life. There were beautiful fields, amazing horses, and it was my first real teaching job. I was a camp counselor and trainer and taught the girls how to be responsible and take care of their horses.

It was really fantastic from a coaching perspective. The girls had different levels of ability and came in with different levels of comfort being away from home. I got to implement all the skills others had modeled for me over the years and teach the girls that my recommendations could be trusted and that I would never ask more of them than they could deliver on. It was incredibly gratifying to see the kids overcome their fears, rise to expectations, and take exceptional care of their horses and others.

After camp, I taught at Bronx Science. I lived in Manhattan and started riding at the Claremont Riding Academy. It was a stable on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in a brownstone, and you could take the horses into Central Park. Initially, I paid to rent horses there, but it was expensive, so I started teaching there, too, and working with the new horses they brought into the stable. I worked there through medical school and residency.

During my residency, the stable was sold and then closed. I kept riding occasionally, but it was hard with a resident’s schedule.

Tell us about your bucket list trip to Ireland.

During my residency, my husband took me on a week-long cross country riding trip to Ireland. He had found a country estate that had been turned into a fancy hotel. The estate had a huge stable, amazing grounds, and allowed hotel guests to rent horses to tour the property, which was studded with cross country fences and water obstacles. I took a horse out once or twice a day, and my loving husband trekked along several times so he could get some photographs to capture how beautiful it all was. It was like foxhunting – without the foxes – and I felt as though I was in a James Herriot book. The whole trip was amazing!

Dr. Stevens during her “bucket list” trip to Ireland with her husband, who photographed her at Castle Leslie.
Dr. Stevens during her “bucket list” trip to Ireland with
her husband, who photographed her at Castle Leslie.

Do you still ride today?

After residency, we moved down to Texas. I found a barn and was riding as soon as we got down here.

I had kids after finishing my fellowship, and I took a long break from riding due to my pregnancies.

The majority of teaching that I’ve done since coming down here was during the pandemic with my own sons, who were 4 and 7 when the pandemic began. It was a safe activity we could do together as a family, and it was really amazing to share something I loved so much with them.

We’ve cut back on time at the barn now that they’re vaccinated and busy with other activities, but they got pretty good.

How do you think horseback riding has related to your career in hematology?

Working with the kids at the barn in Manhattan, I was able to see their resilience and their ability to overcome their fears. They had amazing attitudes toward so many things, and I just couldn’t imagine not having kids be a part of my daily life, so that really solidified pediatrics for me.

What is it about horseback riding that brings you so much joy?

I think it’s the unspoken connection with an animal and the ability to work as a team to accomplish something that not everyone can accomplish. Of course, they are also gorgeous, powerful, and intuitive. For me, they make my blood pressure drop and allow me to reconnect with nature.

Do you have goals for the future?

Right now, I hope to get out to the barn once or twice a month. Some months it’s an achievable goal.

Once my kids are out of the house or don’t need me as much, I fully expect I’ll get a horse again and hopefully start teaching again, too.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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