Allegheny College Equestrian Team History

The Allegheny College Equestrian Team was founded by Sarah Klingler and Adrienne Coble in the spring of 2001. Sarah and Adrienne lived on the same floor as freshman at Allegheny and both had ridden horses for a majority of their lives, giving them an instant bond. They wanted to see if there were others at Allegheny with this shared interest, and at the first unofficial meeting for the team, they found that there was certainly a large interest at Allegheny for such an organization. That spring, the team began riding with the Shafer Farm in Espyville , PA and after presenting a constitution to Allegheny's Student Government, they became a recognized organization through the school and were granted a budget of $1,000 for the 2001-2002 school year.

The 2001-2002 school year was the first year that Allegheny's team competed in the IHSA, the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association ( www.ihsainc.com ) . Adrienne Coble, Sarah Klingler, and Marieke Rosenbaum were the three members of the team that competed on a regular basis during the first season. With only these three members competing compared to the 8-50 members of the other teams, Allegheny ended up 7 th out of 15 teams in their region. At the end of the school year, the team relocated to the Willows Equestrian Center in Erie after the Shafer Farm lost their hunt seat instructor. Allegheny recognized the success of the young team and the potential that it carried and granted the team a budget of over $6,000 for the following school year.

The 2002-2003 season was the first that the team competed in the IHSA with the Willows, and it was an extremely successful year. Nine Allegheny Equestrians competed regularly throughout the season. The team competes against seventeen other schools including Penn State University , the University of Pittsburgh , Duquesne University , and West Virginia University – significantly larger schools. This season, the team finished 8 th out of these seventeen schools. Individually, Sarah Klingler and Adrienne Coble earned the required number of points and thus a chance to compete in the Regional competition, which Allegheny hosted at the Willows. Adrienne was abroad in the spring, making her unable to compete. Sarah placed second at Regionals in the Walk-Trot-Canter division, qualifying her for the Zones competition at Yarmouth Stables near Harrisburgh , PA. At Zones, Sarah took first place in her class and qualified to compete in the IHSA National Horse Show in Nashville , Tennessee , against the top two riders in her division from 9 other Zones across the country. At Nationals, on a 16.2 hand black Thoroughbred gelding named Nick, Sarah took 5 th place her division and the honor of the first Alleghenian to compete at IHSA Nationals. Both Sarah and Adrienne are thrilled with the success of the team and look forward to watching it grow.

The 2003-2004 season brought new talent from the freshman class and continued support of previous members, spanning the classes from Walk Trot division to Novice and Intermediate on the Flat and over Fences. This year, Allegheny hosted its first official horse show on March 7, 2004 at the Willows. Lesson horses and horses borrowed from generous boarders made up the selection of horses for each class. Fifteen schools from our region (Zone 3, Region 3) attended this successful show. At the last show of the spring at IUP, Allegheny tied with Pitt for the Reserve High Point Team Award. Katie Klingensmith took first in the Walk Trot class, and Missy Meyer took second in the same class. Laura Cavagnaro took second in her Walk/Trot/Canter class, Christina Howard first in Novice over Fences, and Sarah Klingler took fifth as point rider in Intermediate Equitation over Fences. Sarah Klingler again gained the required number of points to compete at Regionals, held at Nemacolin Woodlands. Unfortunately, an unruly horse was the luck of the draw and wrecked Sarah's chance at placing in order to continue on to Zones. The team owes its accomplishments to dedicated team members, and coaches at the Willows. Sadly, founders Sarah Klingler and Adrienne Coble graduated this year, leaving behind wonderful memories and hopes for an awesome future for the club and team. They will be missed but never forgotten.

The club is now well established and has enough members to fill a complete team. Each year brings more interest and new talent.