Man has been riding horses for about 6,510 years; give or take a few centuries.
Kiera Massette Somers has been riding horses for most of her life.
“I have been an animal lover my entire life and even went to zoo camp one summer when I was about 5 or 6. I started taking horse-back riding lessons around the same time, and the rest is history! I was obsessed.”
Sometimes, things just click.
“I played soccer, basketball and softball throughout school, but above all, I was an equestrian for 15 years, competing up and down the east coast on all levels. I have numerous awards (too many to list!) from different horseshows (National and Local) and have competed alongside Georgina Bloomberg (New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s youngest daughter) and Joan London’s daughter, Jamie Krauss.”
”My horse was like a big puppy. She was part of the family. If I had a bad day at school (and if I didn’t have soccer practice) I would come home and just go ride alone for hours. It was my outlet, my therapy, and I can’t think of anything else I would’ve rather been doing! Those were, without a doubt, the best years of my life.”
“My fondest memories would definitely be all the traveling with my trainer and my horse to/from shows all over the east coast. Some days you’re up by 4 or 5 a.m. and on the road by 6:30, 7 a.m., then not home ’til 7 or 8 p.m.! You’re probably thinking, ‘Dang, screw that! That’s early!’ But there’s nothing like it. Being an equestrian is more than a hobby, it’s a lifestyle.”
And then, one day, something else clicked.
“When I saw the opportunity with the LFL to incorporate the ’sexy’ element with TRUE full-contact football, I couldn’t pass it up! I think it’s a very positive message to send out to the world that women can be feminine, sexy, competitive, and athletic all at the same time.”
So she came to football training camp. She filled out the forms, then she suited up and stepped onto the field.
Little did she know what she was getting herself into.
“I come from a family of athletes and musicians, so it was always a given that we would either play an instrument or a sport. No questions asked! Haha! I was always taught how important commitment and dedication are from a very early age. I grew up with a grandfather who was an Olympic Gymnast, and he had us all doing back handsprings before we could barely walk!”
She stuck with it. She kept running the routes until she got them right. She learned the rules. She learned how to hit and how to be hit.
She learned how to play football.
But what she was really good at doing was snapping and blocking.
In football, nothing happens offensively until the ball is snapped. The exchange between the center and the quarterback is a critical skill that is often overlooked during play. If the center is too early, the quarterback will fumble the football and the defense will get a head start on the offensive line. If the center is too late, the offense will jump and get penalized. Even if the center snaps the ball at the right time, if she doesn’t get the ball in exactly the right spot, the quarterback will miss the exchange and the mistake will disrupt the timing of the play. And after she snaps the ball, she has to focus on blocking the defensive rush that is standing right over her head. Good centers make it look easy; almost automatic. It’s something that looks so automatic that most players and fans don’t give it a second thought.
Unless you’re the quarterback that has to take that snap, and then has to rely on that same center to protect you every time you drop back to pass.
Dan Marino is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. When he joined the Miami Dolphins straight out of college in 1983, he inherited one of the best centers of all time – Dwight Stephenson, an All-American who would go on to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. And when Dwight Stephenson was snapping the ball, the Miami Dolphins gave up the fewest sacks in the entire league for six straight seasons. For five of those seasons, Dwight Stephenson was All-Pro. For three of those, Dwight Stephenson was the starting center in the AFC conference championship, snapping and blocking right in front of Dan Marino. Dan Marino couldn’t have achieved his success if he didn’t have a good center to snap and block.
To be a good center, the player has to have the discipline to stay in her position even as others are moving around her. She has to stay down in her stance and focus; on the snap count, on her job assignment, and on the defensive player lined up across from her that wants to drill her backwards onto her ass and into the ground.
So is Kiera Massette Somers a good center?
One of the few players to have played the entire Majesty season also happened to be their starting quarterback for all but the last game of the season; Krystal Gray.
“Kiera is the girl I know who has the quality that, when she gets knocked down no matter how hard, she always gets back up. She wanted to play the last game (of the season) on her sprained ankle. She sat on the bench the entire time itching to get out there and play. She has the biggest smile of anyone I know and she has the biggest heart of anyone I know. That’s why she became our team’s center. Quarterbacks and centers need to have the X factor. That comes from confidence, knowing what to do and when. I love Kiera.”
Kiera and Krystal before the game against Tampa. Kiera is in the white track suit in the middle and Krystal is in the red jacket in front of her.
In equestrian competition, dressage is critical. It requires the rider to be confident in her ability to control her horse. She must remain focused at all times and display a level of precision in how her animal moves that no other sport requires. Not only must a rider control her steed, she must also control herself. It is the ultimate test of a rider’s control; in discipline, decorum, and dignity.
And a woman who has trained for fifteen years to compete in dressage carries that focus, that control, with her for the rest of her life.
So, Kiera, would you share your experiences with high school girls, if given the chance?
”Oh wow! I would LOVE this! I actually used to be a substitute teacher at a high school. I would definitely emphasis how important it is to be healthy and keep active. In today’s society, the ’sexy’ element can be, and has been, taken out of context, especially for the younger generation. I think that there are ways to still be sexy and ‘edgy,’ but also be ‘classy’ about it. Athletics has always been a great self-esteem builder, and it usually starts at the high school level.”
Now that you’re making a name with the Majesty, are you recognized as a football player on the streets of Manhattan yet?
“There have been a few times where my teammates and I were out and about and people have come up to us and said, ‘Hey, don’t you play football with the Lingerie Bowl?’ One time I was actually food shopping at (a grocery store) here in New York and I was in my PJ’s! But it’s great that the word is getting out there. I think that if you’re going to be in this industry at any level, it’s important to be grateful for the fans’ support. I love being able to interact with fans and I appreciate them all!”
Discipline, decorum, and dignity. Even while shopping in her pajamas.
To whom do you owe your accomplishments as an athlete?
”My mother especially needs to get the credit on this one. She has supported everything I do from Day 1 (even when I’m sure she really wanted to beat me senseless! Haha!). If it wasn’t for her lugging me to soccer/basketball/softball/riding lessons/piano lessons/pottery class as a kid, I wouldn’t be who/where I am today! So, THANKS MOM!”
Do you plan to keep riding, even as you train for football?
“I do still ride, but not competitively. I ride for my own therapy when I have the time, which lately isn’t too often! I still have friends in the industry up in Westchester who I can go ride with from time-to-time. I don’t have my horse anymore, which is still so, so sad for me. But my long-term plan is to be back in the saddle more and have a horse farm of my own somewhere in Texas or Southern California in a few years…and it will be adjacent to my football field!”
Sounds like a good plan for an equestrian that can snap and block.
Sometimes things just click; filling a void you didn’t know existed. And when you find something that clicks with who you are, it can be difficult to imagine yourself doing something different. But sometimes life has a way of presenting a new thing to you that also clicks; something that you hadn’t really considered before. And when that happens, there’s always plenty of room in your mind and in your heart to embrace it all. Your spirit has an infinite capacity to love.
Just make sure you have enough land.
Long live sport.
