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VIRTUAL HORSE FUN SUCCESS AT A GALLOP Student's game is an Internet hit University of Mary Washington student created and runs a profitable Web site--a game that teaches girls how to care for horses and run their own stables Date published: 7/30/2007
In real life, University of Mary Washington senior Jade Krafsig hopes someday to have a horse and some land to keep it on.
Online, Krafsig already rules an equine empire--an interactive Web-based game aimed at preteen and teen girls who share Krafsig's passion for horses. Whiteoakstables.net has thousands of players, of whom 70 or so may be online at any time, especially during afternoon hours in the U.S. Krafsig, 21, said she has received e-mails from players in Australia and Asian countries, too. The game is aimed at the 10- to 12-year-old age group, but Krafsig said players range from 5- or 6-year-olds to women in their 40s. The game is free to play, but once a participant gets hooked she (or her parents) can purchase membership that allows for greater privileges and bigger horse dreams. Krafsig's entrepreneurial effort hasn't made her rich, but it has helped her pay college expenses and get her to and from a stable near her Fauquier County home where she helps with lessons and occasionally gets to ride as well. virtual horsesKrafsig has been tech-savvy since young childhood, when her mom signed her up for a computer tots class in Northern Virginia. Besides computers, she grew up loving animals of every description. She and her mother volunteered at a no-kill shelter, and these days they have four dogs at their home in Bealeton. As a little girl, Krafsig also played with ceramic horses, galloping them across imaginary pastures. Her grandfather, she recalled, spent a lot of time gluing fragile legs back on. She dreamed of riding, but horseback lessons were expensive. Her mom was reluctant to invest money in what she thought was a youngster's passing fancy. "My mom said, 'You'll grow out of it.' So I made sure I didn't," Krafsig said, smiling. Instead, Krafsig read everything she could about horses and spent hours on the Internet on horse-related game sites. Those online sites gradually lost their charm for her, she said, because they weren't realistic--encouraging players to dream up fanciful horses with magical powers and place them in far-fetched situations. Krafsig wanted a game that simulated the experience of owning a real horse.
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