Cornell Set to Compete in National Zones Championships

They’re one of the best teams in their region, and this weekend the equestrian team will get a chance to see it compares against the top riders from other regions. Five riders from Cornell who qualified last weekend at the Regional Championship will be traveling back to Saratoga Springs this Saturday to compete at the IHSA Zone Championships where many talented riders will be competing to qualify for the National meet.
Women on the team competing this weekend include senior Lauren Wu, juniors Dana Kendrick, Alyse Mizis and Marie Ceranowicz and sophomore Zoe Samuel. To qualify for Zones, riders had to place within the top-3 in their event last weekend. The top-2 riders in each event at Zones qualify for the National meet in May.
The Red has stepped up its preparation this week in anticipation of the high level of competition awaiting them at Zones, riding as much as possible on a variety of different horses.
Ceranowicz, who placed first in the walk-trot event last weekend, cites the high level of competition and uncertainty over what horses they’ll get to ride as the biggest challenges facing the team this weekend.
“We’ve been practicing like crazy,” Ceranowicz said. “It’s more intense during our practices. Instead of staying on one horse for the whole hour, we switch horses. Today I rode three horses.”
Practicing riding on different horses is crucial for the meet this weekend, since riders don’t know what horse they will get to ride until the event.
“Our coach has been making us switch onto a totally different type of horse so that we can be ready for switches they might give us at Zones,” Wu said.
Wu, who earned the reserve finish in the walk-trot-cantor event last weekend, says that the team is confident that everyone is prepared to compete.
“[Zones is] a lot more people, and it’s the top contenders in each region. We’ve never competed against some of them, so it’ll be interesting to see what they look like,” she said. “We know our competition is always going to be tough.”
There are three other events Red women will be competing in this weekend.
“I think we have a really good team going, and I feel like we all have a really good chance of all moving on to nationals,” Wu said.