This equestrian entrepreneur and her horse, RS Contero, hope to ride into the 2028 Olympic Games!

Malachi Hinton prepares for each show jumping event like a true professional. Waking up at 4:30am for a warm-up with RS Contero, she takes an hour and a half to study the course and map out her plan. “I’ve been known not to hear anybody when I’m in the ring. I don’t know what happens, but I can’t hear anything other than my plan in my head.” She’s driven and grounded, telling ESSENCE, “I like to sit, close my eyes, and really visualize myself riding the horse through every jump. I go over it in my head over and over again until I know exactly what my plan is.”

All of these traits make up a professional show jumper who’s shooting for Olympic history, hoping to be the first African-American to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 

After graduating from George Mason University, she decided to take on riding full-time, becoming the founder of the sport horse investment and competition stable, Rhema Sporthouse LLC. Horse riding hasn’t been cheap; the cost of the horse alone is thousands of dollars. With the additional cost of care and competitions, Hinton has rallied a team of Black investors to keep her competition dreams alive. According to Essence, they get the double benefit of funding a promising athlete and securing a coveted opportunity to own elite competition horses, potential profit-making winners. 

Her passion for horse-riding started when she was 9-years-old. Now, at 24, Hinton will soon be competing in two major North American competitions, The Winter Equestrian Festival and the Longines Global Champions Tour with grand prizes worth over $12 million. Every competition gets her one step closer to being qualified for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Go Malachi! We’re rooting for you and RS Contero.

Photo: Rhema Sporthouse