Hopkins girls got champion in national equestrian show

HADLEY -- An equestrian team that includes three Hopkins Academy students came in first in a national horse show last weekend.

Mallory Hudak, Carly Dion and Monica Czerwinski, along with teammates Bailey Manning and Pearl Farley of Shelburne Falls and Lindsey Bailey of Connecticut, took first place in the competition in Upper Marlboro, Md., that featured 20 teams from all over the country.

"This is an amazing accomplishment," said Superintendent Nicholas Young. "A small number of highly dedicated students put an enormous amount of time and effort into learning the craft of riding and have gone well beyond anyone's expectations."

It's unusual for a small public school like Hopkins, which has 312 students, to have an equestrian club, said coach Susan Duncan, a math and science teacher there. It's even more unusual for three members of the club to bring home a national championship, she said.

"This is almost a movie in the making," said Young, comparing the equestrians to the small-town high school basketball team that wins the Indiana state championship in the 1986 film "Hoosiers."

The six girls on the team ride at Biscuit Hill Farm in Shelburne Falls. They were selected for a combined Hopkins/Biscuit Hill team based on their past performance, said Beth Manning, a farm co-owner and another coach of the team.

Duncan, who has ridden professionally and trained horses, started the Hopkins equestrian club three years ago. It qualified for the national tournament last year also.

"To be able to accomplish this was just great for them," she said. "I'm so excited and proud of the kids."

<h4>Small school, big win</h4>

Hudak said it was "overwhelming" to enter a huge ring and perform on an unfamiliar horse with lots of people watching. "It's really hard to ride a horse you don't know, go into an arena and be judged, and have only a second to figure out everything about the horse and make yourself look good," she said.

Hudak, who has been riding since she was 8, plans to attend Wentworth Institute of Technology next year.

Dion said many of their competitors were happy the Hadley team won. "Everyone wanted us to be successful because we're so small," she said.

She has been riding since she was 12 and hopes to join the team at the University of Rhode Island next year. She and Hudak ride once a week.

Czerwinski, who has been riding since the age of 3, would like to become a veterinarian specializing in large animals. She has her own horse and rides every other day, she said.

She also plays soccer, softball, basketball and golf, but said that equestrian competition is the most difficult because it involves getting to know an animal. In a national tournament, where the horses are chosen at random, the rider gets only a few minutes to bond with the animal, she said.

The Hadley School Committee contributed $1,500 toward the expenses of the trip to Maryland. Team members each had to come up with $100 to $150 to cover costs, they said.

<h4>Seeking respect</h4>

Athletics are considered important at Hopkins Academy, but the equestrian team members say that they don't get enough respect.

"If the basketball team won the national championship, everyone would go crazy," said Dion. "People say, 'All you do is sit on a horse and the horse does all the work.' I wish I could put everyone in school on a horse and maybe they'd understand how hard we work for things."

Riding takes a lot of mental ability and athleticism, and strong legs are a must, Hudak said.

"It's harder than kicking a ball around," she said. "You're on a strange animal you can't control and it could do something at any second. It's risky, but that's what I like about it." All three pointed out that equestrian competition is an Olympic sport.

Young agreed that the team hasn't received enough recognition.

"We need to stop and evaluate what we can do to help this team maintain its national standing," he said. "The whole community should be proud of these young ladies. It's a victory for the whole community."