ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell equestrian opens its 2026-27 season with head coach Nicolle Madonna Cerio entering her second year at the helm, looking to turn a program-wide culture shift into results on the national stage, begining with the Preseason Tournament of Champions in Lynchburg, Va., this Saturday and Sunday.

Madonna Cerio's first season in Ithaca produced five High Point Team titles and a second-place regional finish, with six riders advancing to Zone II Championships. Then-sophomore Alexa Carey capped the run with a trip to the IHSA National Championships, finishing third in Individual Introductory Equitation, while Jianna Simcik, Clara Beck and Evelyn Gurvich all captured regional championships in their respective divisions. Team horse Ren was named Regional Horse of the Year.

Carey, now a junior, returns alongside junior Erin Morera, one of the Big Red's top performers after a sophomore season that included two High Point Rider honors — highlighted by a "ride of the day" score of 91 at Cornell Show II — along with ten first-place finishes across Open Flat, Open Fences and Intermediate Flat.

But for Madonna Cerio, the bigger story than any result is how quickly the program has bought into a new culture — and how that culture is now expected to drive the results.

"We have a fantastic group of returners who have really helped fast track the shift of our culture to being a team that actually works together and believes in the overall vision not just for our team but for Cornell sports as a whole — one team!" Madonna Cerio said. "A staff change is always hard the first few years, but the energy of the team overall this year is amazing already. That difference in outlook and team spirit is going to be a game changer for us for many years to come."

The Big Red is also raising its competitive ceiling. Cornell has added the out-of-conference Tournament of Champions series to its schedule beginning this September, a move designed to put the team in front of the country's best programs on a regular basis.

"Obviously we always want to be better, particularly on the national level," Madonna Cerio said. "Having added in the out-of-conference Tournament of Champions competitions starting this September will now give our athletes the opportunity to regularly compete against the best teams in the country, with the ultimate goal being taking what we learn on the road back to Oxley and helping build up the entire team. Hard competition is motivating when you approach it the right way. Challenges are good. We are working towards a stronger Zone Finals performance this season, with hopefully more representation at National finals. But the most important thing is this newfound sense of team spirit at Oxley — a true culture that does not value one team member over the other. And that in itself is motivating."

With a deeper, more experienced group now fully bought into Madonna Cerio's vision — and a schedule built to test them against the nation's elite — the Big Red's budding culture will look to translate into a stronger showing at Zone Finals and a larger contingent at Nationals this spring.