ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell equestrian team opened the spring season last weekend on the road at Alfred University, leaving with a third-place finish. Cornell is looking for a better finish this weekend after taking high point in both events last year at Alfred.
 
In this weekend's show, the Big Red face off in nine classes at eight different levels. Lauren Benson will represent Cornell in the Introductory Hunter Seat . The pre-novice Hunter Seat will be ridden by Claudia Arredondo Zayas, with Natalie Morris and Caroline Gaudet taking on the novice ride. In the Limit Hunter Seat on the Flat, we'll see Annalisa Piscitelli and Emily Pecsok compete. Three Cornellians will ride in the Limit Hunter Seat over fences. These include Clara Beck, Taylor Haines, and Caly Stewart. Taylor Haines will ride a double header on the day by also doing the Intermediate Hunter Seat in the Flat, joined by Katherine Philipp and Riley Gerardo. Cornell will be represented by two riders in Intermediate Hunter Sear over Fences and Open Hunter Seat on the flat; with Lauren Aubert and Riley Gerardo competing in the first event and Posue Price and Bianca Garcia competing in the second. The day will finish off with the Open Hunter Seat over Fences where Posie Price, Alexandra Miranda, Biance Garcia, and Isabel Hall will represent Cornell.

About the Big Red

• Cornell has won high point four times this season in just six shows.
 
• The Big Red return 11 riders to the line-up, including Ashley Ardila, who placed fourth at the 2022 IHSA Nationals in Individual Introductory Equitation.
 
• The Big Red finished atop the podium 8 of 10 times in the 2021 season, including winning the Ivy Show title.
 

Head Coach Joanna Novakovic

• The 2022-23 season marks Novakovic's eighth year as Head Coach of Equestrian. It marks her seventh season as the 2020-21 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Novakovic has helped lead the Big Red to the national stage on multiple occasions, including a seventh-place overall finish in the first ever team qualification to the IHSA National Championship in 2016.
• Under Novakovic, Cornell has won four straight Ivy Show titles (2017-2021)
• Novakovic coached an IHSA National Champion and a National Reserve champion in 2015.
• She has developed Zone Reserve Champions (2016, 19, 21), Regional Champions (2015, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21), Ivy League Champions (2015, 17, 18, 19, 21) and Ivy League Reserve Champions (2016, 21)

Up Next

• The Big Red will return home for the first time in 2023 when they host Regionals at the Oxley Equestrian Center on Sunday, March 5^th.