There are currently over 250 active clubs on the Stony Brook University campus, each of which has its own unique style and culture. Despite being one of the lesser known clubs with the SB community, the Equestrian Team has experienced a great a deal of success over the past ten years.
The’ SB Equestrian Team won the Regional Team Championship in both 1998 and 2004. This current season, the team is led by head coach, Myrna Treuting and they are competing in Zone 2 Region 4 of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). They compete against 11 other schools including Yale University, Columbia University, New York University and Hofstra University.
Through Mar. 11th, SB was sitting’ at third place in the overall team standings with a total of 266 points. Fairfield University is at the top of the list with 307 points and New York University is’ at second place with 297 points.
Each season the team attends several shows and competes against the other schools in their region. At these shows there are typically ten categories of events. These categories are Walk-Trot, Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter, Novice Equitation On The Flat, Novice Equitation Over Fences, Intermediate Equitation On The Flat, Intermediate Equitation Over Fences, Open Equitation On The Flat, Open Equitation Over Fences, Alumni Flat, and Alumni Fences.
The ultimate goal of these riders is to take home the Cacchione Cup at the end of the season. Since the mid-1970’s the IHSA has presented the Cacchione Cup to the open rider who wins a competition at IHSA Nationals involving a flat phase, a jumping phase, and, in recent seasons, a work off phase. The IHSA Nationals are being held this season from May 3 to May 6 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The number of entries in the Cacchione Competition is much larger today than it has been in the past. For instance, as recently as 1992, there were only 15 riders competing for the prestigious cup. However, this season in the IHSA, there are 9 zones each with 3-4 regions. In total there are 30 regions and each one gets to send a rider to compete. Therefore 15 years later the number of riders in the cup has doubled from 15 to 30.
Rachel Cresswell of SB will be returning to the Cacchione Competition this season to compete for the second straight season. Last season she finished outside the top ten at Nationals. As of Mar. 11, Cresswell was in the lead of the Zone 2 Region 4 open rider standings by 24 points. She had accumulated 85 points and the next closest rider is Diana Patterson of Columbia University who has 61 points on the season.
This season the Zone 2 Region 4 Regionals are scheduled for Sunday April 1st at Good Shepherd Farm in Yaphank, New York. Through March 11th Stony Brook had six different riders qualify for Regionals. Cresswell has qualified for both the Open Equitation Over Fences and On The Flat. Brittany Ekstrom and Sara Ford both qualified for the Novice Equitation Over Fences and On The Flat. Stacy Munoz qualified for both the Alumni Fences and Flat, and Amanda Urbanski and Anne Zeumer qualified for the Intermediate Equitation On The Flat.
The team is currently looking for riders of all levels, from beginner to open. All they require is that you have at least six months of regular riding with lessons, and a passion to join the fun of a great team and a fun sport.
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