Riding in Style: Thriving During a Pandemic The stable lounge, normally a bustling and cheerful place after school, was quiet this year, but the rest of the equestrian program provided joy, routine, and liveliness to riders. Riding lessons, horsemanship classes, clinics, and on- and off-campus events continued throughout the year. R E- D E S I G N E D S TA B L E O P E R AT I O N S L E A D T H E WAY Shutting down the barn during the pandemic was not an option, so the equestrian staff worked tirelessly to quickly re-design operations with COVID mitigation protocols in mind. The equestrian program was the first campus program to develop and test new pandemic procedures. Director of Equestrian Programs Ian McCartney noted, “Horses need exercise, feeding, and care 365 days a year, so figuring out a way to safely operate the barn was critical. We put protocols in place to keep horse owners coming to the stables.” Thanks to a few generous local alumnae who teamed up with the Madeira staff to keep the horses exercised, the stables were able to continue operating even after the governor mandated school closures. P R O G R A M R E M A I N S AC T I V E Once students returned to campus, the riding program functioned similarly to a typical year— albeit with masked riders and individual equipment. The sport lends itself to physical distancing, and through a carefully constructed riding schedule that limited the number of riders in the stable at any given time, riding lessons were in full swing. Safety concerns led to the cancellation of the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) seaMADEIRA TODAY SUMMER 2021
son, but that allowed the team to offer a variety
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of on-campus events open to all levels of riders. Madeira hosted in-house horse shows, clinics with a variety of college riding coaches and judges, and even a very popular Halloween costume event.
