When I came to Rider, I knew that I wanted to be apart of the Equestrian Team that was established here. When I put my email down on the list for them to contact me, I had no clue on how big of an impact that would make on me.

When our first meeting came around, I was a little intimidated by some of the people there especially my team captain, Po (sorry Po!). But I later learned that Po would be a great leader and her and our co-captain, Melissa, would bring this team together so we could do great at our shows and pull off our home show. Everything that they do never goes unnoticed!

Our team with the founder of IHSA, Robert E. Cacchione.

I learned a lot while being on a team because in high school, I was never on a sports team. I was the choir kid that devoted her time to making sure choir ran smoothly. When I came here, I began to learn what it's like to become apart of a team with people who were as passionate as I was with doing something we all loved: riding horses.

When our first show came along, my mentor Kayla calmed me down and her, Melissa, and Po would tell me what I was doing wrong. I would hear them whisper at me to fix my hands or to change my diagonal. They would record my class and I would be able to hear them talk in the background. As the weeks progressed, I got better each time and at our home show I pointed out of my class and progressed to the next class.

I also met two really great friends who go by the name Jesse and Madi. Both of them own a horse and they are just as involved as I am in this sport. Jesse owns a Quarter Horse named Gator who is a potato with legs (her words, not mine) whereas Madi leases a horse named Savannah who is also a Quarter Horse. The two of them also showed this year and I am so glad I got the opportunity to meet them! They have both helped me gain confidence in my riding and I know I have two friends that will hopefully last a lifetime!

Jesse at our show hosted by Rowan University

One of our shows was three hours away hosted by Shippensburg University and the night before the show, the showing members drove up and stayed the night in a hotel. The car ride included laughs and jokes and so did dinner and that day I realized I belonged on this team. We all care about each other and we all want to see everyone do well.

We had so much stuff in my car to the point where we couldn't find Madi in the back seat!

When I chose Rider, I knew that I was going to be apart of this team but what I didn't know was that I would be so involved. Thank you to everyone on my team for being such a huge part of my freshman year!