The St. Lawrence University Riding Team has had incredible success over the last decade. The past eight seasons for the Saints have resulted in trips to the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) National Championship. They won back to back championships in 2012 and 2013.
This year, for the first time, their program suffered from the intrusion of the EHV-1 virus, causing their beloved horses to be quarantined and isolated from each other. This has not stopped the riding team’s success this season, as they are headed back to Nationals once again.
The EHV-1 virus outbreak was managed by Dr. Amy Thompson of the Canton Animal Clinic, as it is highly contagious and dangerous for the horses. Disheartened, but not defeated, the Saints Riding Team has been able to practice at Honey Dew Acres, a local barn here in the North Country owned by the Cambridge family. The St. Lawrence horses are in recovery, and the team has taken the actions needed to ensure the horses heal properly.
“Our team has gone above and beyond to help care for them and taken hours out of their day to make sure that our horses are fully recovered,” mentioned Captain Caitlin Doocy ’19.
As rider Merle Beach ’20 noted, they have not been able to practice as often as they have in past years, making it much harder to prepare for a high-level horse show. They’ve been able to make the most of their time at Honey Dew Acres with the horses they’ve provided. Preparing for high level horse shows is no easy task, and the resources are part of the success. This year’s riding team has found success regardless of the circumstances.
For the team to reach IHSA Nationals, they must first win their region and then proceed to “zones”, which for St. Lawrence is comprised of five regions spanning from Canada to Pennsylvania. This year, after they made it through the regional tournament, the team placed third at zones.
A few days later, due to complications in the scoring, St. Lawrence was moved up to second place, keeping their Nationals dream alive for the ninth straight season. “It meant the world to us, especially to our seniors who haven’t experienced a year where we haven’t been to Nationals, and couldn’t believe that we might not be going. The look of pure shock and joy on everyone’s faces when they were told they were going to Nationals really said it all. We couldn’t be more grateful to have this opportunity again!” Doocy stated.
The team has had tremendous success under head coach, Mary Drueding, and the 2019 season has been no different. With questions of whether they would be able to maintain the same level of riding, Coach Drueding and the team handled every situation thrown at them and still made it to Nationals.
Coach Drueding attested their success to the resiliency of this year’s team, where everyone has sacrificed for the greater good of the horses and the success of the team.
“There is no staff situation that could handle 51 horses needing something in the same minute and unfortunately we got into that situation. Our riders had to step aside from their own riding needs to put the animals first,” Coach Drueding stated. “We would never have managed this without this team,” she added.
The St. Lawrence Riding Program is on track to recover their horses and ensure their health for future teams. For now, this year’s team is focused on performing well at Nationals. Coach Drueding always has high expectations for her teams and this year is no different.
The team has done an incredible job thus far considering the circumstances they were under. This is a testament to how much time and effort the staff and students of the Saints Riding Team put into each season, but also how devoted this team is to their horses.
The IHSA National Championship will be held May 2 through May 5 in Syracuse, N.Y.