Canisius College Equestrian Club

Affiliated with the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (ihsainc.com), the Canisius College Equestrian Club was chartered in the spring of 2004, and so it is in its infancy.  It is the only collegiate riding club in the Buffalo-Niagara Region and has just moved to the new, state of the art Brookfield Stables in Clarence NY!

In the spring of 2005, the Club entered its first IHSA competition and won seven ribbons!  Patti Hill & Kaili Stapley are certified instructors at Brookfield, is the coach of the Equestrian team and supervises all of the club riding lessons, training and preparation for competition.

The 2006-2007 officers of the club are Allison Schnackel, President and Captain; Alyssa Pollinger, Vice President; Jenn Blizniak, Treasurer; Carlisle Lipke, Events Coordinator.  Its advisor is John Zeis, Professor of Philosophy.  There are currently 20 students participating in the club and it is certain to only grow in the future.  For more information or an application to join the club, e-mail ihsa@canisius.edu.

Pictured at left is Amanda Meyer, President of the Club in 2004-2005, on her mount, Drum Roll, beginning her riding lesson at the Buffalo Equestrian Center.

Amanda is an accomplished rider and is the founder of the Canisius College Equestrian Club.

Dana Cusano, shown here grooming her mount, Viking, was the President of the Riding Club in 2005-2006.

It is obvious from the picture that Dana has a way with horses, and is in one of the more advanced lesson groups.

Libby McNabb, the coach of the Canisius College Equestrian team, and a certified riding instructor at the Buffalo Equestrian Center, is pictured below, leading team riders through their paces. 

Below is former Assistant Coach, Mike, checking on tack in the tackroom at the Buffalo Equestrian Center.

In March of 2005, the Equestrian Club entered its first team competition at Cazenovia College.  It was a great experience and the team came home with a bunch of ribbons!  Front left to right in the pic from the Cazenovia show are Alyssa Pollinger, Cassie Peglow, Christine Bigaj, Allison Schnackel, and Amanda Meyer.  See? Go Griffs!

Here's Bridgette in action at the show.

In November 2005, the Club competed in the IHSA Regional at Nazareth College.  Here is a link to pix from the Nazareth Show.  On March 4, 2006, the Club traveled to Upstate New York to compete in the Regional show at St. Lawrence University. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the club, contact Allison Schnackel (ihsa@canisius.edu) or Dr. Zeis (zeis@canisius.edu).

Come ride with us!