Carrying on tradition: Teen rides in the footsteps of her mother, sister

Sept. 30--FORT WALTON BEACH -- Every time Emma Ritchie reaches the edge of the football field, her mind is racing.

The cheering crowd, the booming band, the teams on the field -- the 16-year-old is cognizant of it all and the fact she can't let her horse feel the excitement.

"I love it," Emma said. "It gets my heart pounding; it's like nothing I've ever done."

But her family has.

Repeatedly.

It all started three decades ago when Emma's mother attended a football game with her family and saw Brian Buckaroo gallop out onto the field before the start of a Choctawhatchee High School home football game.

"I looked at my dad and said, 'I'm going to do it that one day' at the age of 4," Maranda King recalled with a laugh.

By the fall on 1993, King had saved up the money to buy a horse and made good on her plan to be a Choctaw Princess of War. For three years, she rode out to the 50 yard line to start up the game.

Less than two decades later, her oldest daughter Ashton King, followed in her footsteps.

Today, with Ashton graduated, it's Emma's turn to take the reins and don the hand-stitched uniform.

"It's a tradition for Choctaw and it's a tradition for my family," King said. "It kind of almost makes you cry when you see them do it."

Insurance rule changes now keep Emma in the end zone instead of riding out to the center of the field, but it doesn't take away from the experience for the family with a long history at Choctaw.

Emma said she hopes to ride the horse again at home games during her senior year next year and see the tradition into future generations.

"It's such a big deal, I would love to have my kids do it," she said.

WANT TO HELP? Emma's family is covering the insurance cost ($1,200/year) for her to carry on the school tradition this year and again next year. Anyone who wants to help cover the cost can visit http://www.gofundme.com/esd35o

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.

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