The IHSA National Service Project Award cup that will be coming home with the team from nationals in Raleigh, NC. Image courtesy of Karli Postel ’13
Healing Hooves 2012, a fundraising initiative hosted by the equestrian team at Goucher College was nominated for and won the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association‘s (otherwise known as IHSA) National Service Project Award this May 5th at the IHSA National Championships in Raleigh, NC. To learn more about the event, please listen to the informative podcast below!
Editor’s Note: Though not mentioned in the podcast, the theme for this year’s event was ‘Beatlemania’ and the band playing is a local Beatle cover group named ‘Saving Sargent’.
In the April 7th Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Zone 4 Championships (the equivalent of conference championships for equestrian), the Goucher College equestrian team finished first with 45 points overall ahead of St. Andrews’ 43 points, Bridgewater’s 34 points, and University of Delaware’s 30 points.
The full 2011-2012 Equestrian Team. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Kellogg.
Making a bid for nationals, selected riders will represent the team as a whole as the official ‘zone’ team. Several individuals who have qualified for this event will also represent their college as individuals.
Goucher will be facing off against Bridgewater College, St. Andrews University, and University of Delaware as a team, but those riding as individuals will also face tough competition from other individuals from schools in the region like Sweet Briar College, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University.
The competition will begin at 10 AM, and will be held at the Goucher College stables (this link will take you to a campus map)
On this past Sunday March 26th,my fellow tri-captain (Goucher’s Equestrian Team has 3 team captains!) Karli Postel ’13 and I joined in the evening broadcast of INSIGHT ON disABILITY at the WCBM AM 680 radio station in Pikesville, MD. We pitched the Goucher Equestrian Team‘s Healing Hooves 2012 event alongside host Michael Gerlach, and charismatic co-hosts Brent Tarring and Harry Cook. Having never been on the radio before, we were naturally incredibly nervous, but anxious to get started.
Image courtesy of Michael Gerlach.
I have never tuned into AM 680 before, as I tend to habitually listen to CDs and mixtapes instead of the radio when I drive, but after this experience I think I have found a new station to tune into! Michael, Brent, and Harry as well as the entire staff at WCBM were incredibly respectful and Karli and I were honored to get a chance to join the show!
Image courtesy of Michael Gerlach
To hear the full program, click the link below!
In the wake of the highly popular meme trend of “what ___ thinks I do” images that have been appearing across the internet, I decided to write my own opinion piece of what non-horse people think I do. To provide an example of what I mean, here is an example of one of those images:
Image courtesy of Horse Forum.com
The Goucher Equestrian team, undefeated and going strong has now created a channel on YouTube where you can see highlights from individual IHSA classes! Here are some of the highlights from this past horse show: (click continue reading to see more)
James H. Fairclough II is aboard the white horse. Image courtesy of Zach Dilgard via NJ.com
James Fairclough, an acclaimed equestrian and Drew University Alum traded jumping for jousting on the February 12 premiere of History Channel’s ‘Full Metal Jousting’ show. Noted for winning the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Cacchione Cup in 2008, and has been the co-rider of renowned equestrian Mary Chapot’s horses Starquest (resulting in a performance good enough to ride into the 2011 Six Year Olds Circuit Championship) and Zealous ( who was awarded the 2011 WEF Circuit Champion for the Seven and Eight Year Olds, as well as Horse of the Year for the Seven and Eight Year Olds in 2011). Fairclough is the owner of Cavalier Show Jumping out of Seahorse Stables located in Water Mill, NY and is optimistic about the upcoming season of FMJ.
“Crackers”
Breed: German Holsteiner
Age: 17
About Crackers: Crackers, although not an ‘official’ Goucher College horse has represented Goucher at the American National Riding Commision for three years in a row as both a 3′ and 2’6″ competition horse. Crackers is Goucher’s resident goofball and is extremely talented at bucking, jumping large jumps, and making puppy eyes. CrackerJack was born in Germany and came to the United States when he was roughly 3 or 4 years old, where he was initially trained as a dressage horse. However, because of his ‘unique’ walk (resembles a camel’s walk) it was decided he would be much happier as a jumping horse. Before meeting his current owner Charlotte, Crackers competed in Florida, Massachusetts, and is even rumored to have been used in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association for a brief time. CrackerJack enjoys meeting new people, jumping anything and everything, and eating. CrackerJack is rumored to have once smacked his head on a water pipe as a colt, resulting in the ‘crack’ over his left eye, and is well known to most riders at Goucher for his impressive ‘bucking’, or kicking-motion when he gets too excited. Crackers vacations at Duncraven Stables in Titusville, NJ and is best friends with his unofficial “twin” Earthquake, a very large Goucher College horse. Crackers will be returning to Goucher College soon in hopes of representing Goucher a fourth time at ANRC, and will be rejoining barn mates Earthquake, Empire, Calypso, and Ghandi.
Likes: Carrots, Apples,Fruit Cups, Bananas, Melons, Oranges, Italian Ice, Pizza, Gatorade, Nerds, Twizzlers, Molasses, Peppermints, Jolly Ranchers,…and small children
Dislikes: Water, Baths, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Balloons, Umbrellas, Hipsters, Moustaches.
“X”
Breed: Oldenburg
Age: 18
About X: X was born on March 4, 1994, and is officially registered in the International Sport Horse Registry. Affectionately known as ‘Sexy X-y’, X is a Goucher school horse that is well-known for his excellent attitude and great outlook on life. Previous to Goucher College, X competed in the Adult Amateurs and was a talented Equitation horse. A skilled napper and overall good guy, X is a favorite among students enrolled in the riding program of Goucher College(roughly 60 students a year take lessons) and is often brought along to away games as a potential ‘draw’ (a horse you could ‘pull out of the hat’ and ride in an IHSA competition). X first arrived at Goucher in 2009 from an enthusiastic local equestrian, and is a happy resident of the ‘pony’ barn alongside stellar stall mates Nantucket, Chamois, and Monty. X’s talents include napping, making friends, and taking care of beginners. X is used for all levels of competition at home shows, and is a skilled jumper both in the ring and over the Blue and Gold jumps in the ‘front field’.
Likes: rolling in mud, peppermints, napping, fidgeting, teaching people how to ride
Dislikes: staying clean, getting baths
Unbridled 
