Equestrian To Host Third Annual Home Show On Saturday

LEICESTER, MASS. – Becker College will host its third annual equestrian show on Saturday, October 20, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Becker College Equestrian Center in Paxton, Mass.

Along with Becker, ten other colleges will participate in this show, the second competition of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Region 1, Zone 1 2012-2013 season, including Assumption College, Clark University, Brown University, Holy Cross, Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and the University of Rhode Island.

In addition to qualifying riders for the upcoming IHSA regional competition, and receiving the Becker College President's Academic Cup, presented to the athletic team with the highest GPA among its members, for the spring 2012 semester, the team has also chosen to ride to raise cancer awareness, at the October 20 show.

• One of the jumps on the course at the show will be designated the "cancer Jump" and is painted with colors representing various types of cancer
• Two of the horses boarded at the center are up for adoption from the MSPCA, including "Oakley," whose owner is suffering from cancer and had to surrender the horse
• The American Cancer Society will have a table at the show
• The team and coaches will walk in the Strides Against Cancer Walk on October 21

Last season the Hawks sent nine riders to the regional completion at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Hebron, Conn. Four of those riders return for their sophomore season, including central Massachusetts natives Emily McGuirk from Leicester and Bridget Atkins from Holden.

The 28-member Becker equestrian team includes students studying nursing and video game design, as well as veterinary science and equine studies.

The Becker College Equestrian Center is located at 38 Nanigian Road in Paxton.

  The Equestrian Team was recently featured in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Those riding in the horse show at Becker College's Equestrian Center can all be called champions whether or not they win.

Several riders on the 28-member Becker Equestrian team have been touched by cancer, and their group as a whole wished to champion the cause during the second competition of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association event, which will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the college's Paxton facility.

They began by decorating a fence last week with colors representing various types of cancer. Designated the "cancer jump," the completed fence will be one of the jumps on the course at the show and all participating riders will literally jump over cancer.

"Our team in particular is touched by this disease," said Catriona (Trina) Baker, equestrian coach and manger of Becker's equestrian facility, adding that, as a breast cancer survivor, her contribution to the fence was a band of pink.

Orange for kidney and silver for lymphoma are some of the other hues added by team members who have experienced those particular cancers, Ms. Baker said.

In addition, the American Cancer Society will have an informational display at the show and visitors will have a chance to see two of the center's boarders (horses Dottie and Oakley) both up for adoption through the Mass. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Oakley's owner is suffering from cancer and had to surrender the horse.

"Dottie looks like Black Beauty—black with a white star on her forehead," Ms. Baker said.

On Oct. 21, team members will walk in the Strides Against Cancer Walk.

The show will feature dozens of students from 11 colleges. In addition to Becker, local schools include Assumption, Clark and College of the Holy Cross. The other visiting teams include University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and six Rhode Island schools: Brown University, Johnson and Wales, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams College, Salve Regina University, and University of Rhode Island.

Story Courtesy of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Written by Bonnie Russell