Riding

Head Coach: C. J. Law
Phone: 413-538-2264

A commitment to excellence has helped the Mount Holyoke equestrian team earn a national reputation. The riding team captured the 2006 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship Title for the third time in school history. Prior championship wins were in 2000 and 1986, while the Lyons earned Reserve Champion status in 2005 and 2007. They also earned Champion College honors for Region III, Zone I for the eleventh straight year in 2006-2007. 

The team entered the fall portion of its 2007-08 season with high aspirations after capturing Reserve National Champion honors at the conclusion of the 2006-07 campaign.

For the second year in a row, the Lyons earned top honors at the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions Horse Show, which was hosted by St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C.

They opened up their regular season slate with a High Point Championship at the Becker College Intercollegiate Horse Show. Sophomore Tracey Mack, turned in an outstanding performance, collecting both the overall High Point Rider and High Point Open Rider titles. Mount Holyoke added another High Point Championship the next weekend at the Williams College Intercollegiate Horse Show.

Following a third place performance at the University of Massachusetts Intercollegiate Horse Show, the Lyons took fourth at their home show. They rounded out the fall portion of their schedule with a High Point title at the Amherst College Intercollegiate Horse Show.

At the conclusion of its fall season, Mount Holyoke was invited take part in the Holiday Tournament of Champions in Hackettstown, N.J. Facing off against 26 teams from around the nation, the Lyons finished on top.

Mount Holyoke will enter the spring trailing the University of Massachusetts by just one point in the Zone 1, Region III overall standings. Head coach C.J. Law and the Lyons will be seeking their second national championship in three years.

Town & Country recently wrote: "Hands-down, Mount Holyoke has the finest East Coast [equestrian] facilities, attracting highly motivated equestrians for classes in hunter seat, combined training and dressage." One of the most impressive equestrian centers in the country, it features a 60-stall barn, two indoor arenas (100' x 256' and 75' x 130'), an outdoor show ring, and a permanent sand dressage arena. There are also three cross-country courses that cut through 120 acres of woods, fields, and streams.

Carol Law welcomes riders at all levels of skill and experience. Mount Holyoke riders include beginning riders, as well as riders who have competed at the upper levels of dressage, preliminary eventing, and the Medal and Maclay finals. The team practices year-round, attending four to five shows in the fall and four in the spring. Tryouts are held at the start of each semester. Coach Law believes that through riding you develop qualities such as patience, self-discipline, concentration, and the determination to reach ever higher levels of performance. Consistently ranked among the top teams within the IHSA, Mount Holyoke has won many titles. Those championships include the IHSA National Championship in 1986 and 2000, the Tournament of Champions Title in 1993, 1997, and 2002, and the Mid-South Classic in 1995. The team has also produced individual national champions, such as Krista Johnson, winner of the Individual Open Equitation title in 1992, Claudia Barth, winner of the 1990 Cacchione Cup Grand Championship High Point Hunt Seat Rider competition, and Laena Romond, winner of the 2002 Cacchione Cup. Mount Holyoke riders also compete in international competitions and have won several titles competing against riders from fifteen countries. In 1995, Joy (Wiezbicki) Collins won the National Individual Alumnae Championship. Mount Holyoke hosted the IHSA National Championships in 1997 and has hosted the Nationals more often than any other college or university.

As a Mount Holyoke scholar-athlete, you are driven to excel in the athletic arena as well as the classroom and laboratory. The discipline, sense of accomplishment, and competitive edge that you bring to your sport resonate through every channel of your intellectual life. The desire to achieve–it's all part of the mind-body connection.