“I have known Kate for many years and have watched her compete on the horse show circuit. Kate came to Saddle River Equestrian over a year ago with a solid foundation of horsemanship and equitation. Traditionally, I ask every new student to state their goal upon arrival at SRE. Kate’s goal was to gain as much knowledge as she could to become a competitive big eq rider. Additionally, her year-end goals included to qualify for at least 2 of the major medal finals. Through hard work, Kate has been able to achieve and surpass her goal. Kate is a talented rider that takes each schooling and show round as a learning experience. She does not come out of the ring after a round looking for praise, but rather looking for what she can do to improve on her next course. She takes each round and builds upon her foundation to become a better rider and is never afraid to ask questions if she does not understand. I have seen great improvements in Kate over the past year. She has become a confident rider who grows with each win and each failure equally. Despite riding being a very individual sport, Kate keeps the team spirit alive cheering on her fellow barn mates. She is the first to step in to help take the martingale off prior to a flat for any aged student.Kate spends most days at the barn. Her love for horses shows through her dedication and compassion. If she is not riding her own horses, she is helping to ride other horses at the barn. She has also taken great pride in helping to do daily grain and medication setup. At away horse shows, you can always find Kate at the in gate with the trainers, gaining even more knowledge while cheering on her barn mates.Kate would be an asset to any team. I cannot imagine SRE without her.”
~ Jessica Smith; Saddle River Equestrian, Owner www.saddleriverequestrian.com (845) 735-3617
“As one of the trainers that Kate works with at our barn I can speak to her work ethic, desire to learn, and willingness to be part of a team environment. Personally, I was the captain of a 60 person IHSA team so I am familiar with the type of person a team would look for not only as a rider but as a teammate. I first met Kate when she was riding at a different barn and joined our IEA team. While she was quite young at the time, I could see that there was natural talent, grit, and a team player. Years later she moved to our barn when she was ready to move up to the 3’6” and try and qualify for finals. While our barn is not an easy drive, Kate never complains and always shows up ready to learn. As we are coming on a year and a half of working together, Kate has improved drastically. She has now qualified for Medal finals, Maclay finals, USHJA jumper seat finals, the North American Jr. Equitation championship, and New England Finals. Coming off this past weekend Kate has already qualified in the very difficult zone 2 maclay regionals earning a 12th, and received a 5th overall in the USHJA jumper seat finals out of 150 showing us that she not only has the talent at home but was ready to step up and bring her “A” game to the show ring. I believe that Kate would be an excellent addition to any team between her abilities in the ring and her friendly, team minded spirit.”
~ Shelby Cashman, Trainer at Saddle River Equestrian
“When Kate asked me to put forward a testimonial for her I was so excited to get to be a part of her journey into college, although our barn will feel a great loss without having her with us on a daily basis. I have been training Kate for over a year and have seen so much growth in that time. Kate came to me as a strong rider, she knew how to get the job done, and was willing to put the work in without a complaint. In our time together she has refined her abilities to make a beautiful equitation rider and eventually will make a fantastic adult rider whether she decides to become a professional or stay an amateur. When at the barn she is the first to offer assistance with any barn chore that needs to be completed, whether it be helping care for a horse, or volunteering as a camp counselor. While we do not have a team per se, she shows that she would be a fantastic team player. She regularly competes against other girls in our barn who compete at the same level. Some days she brings home a blue and some days her barn mates do. No matter the outcome she is always equally as happy for the other girls in the barn and cheers them on and encourages their best. I truly believe any team would be so lucky to have her.”
~ Randi Cashman, Trainer at Saddle River Equestrian