Every week during the academic year, Ally Song ’26 made the short trip off campus to the picturesque Whispering Hill Equestrian Center in nearby Cazenovia. There, Colgate’s club equestrian team comes together to spend time with the horses and prepare for Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions, where they regularly face off against teams from surrounding colleges — many of them varsity programs.
Song, an economics and classics double major, never missed a single horse show in all her four years on the team. She competed both on the flat, where riders are judged for their form while commanding the horse to walk, trot, and canter, as well as over fences, guiding a horse around a course of jumps. Riders receive points based on their placement in a class: seven points for first place, five for second, and so on.
This season, Song’s dedication turned into something historic. She emerged as Colgate’s first-ever Cacchione Cup Champion, awarded to the rider who accumulates the highest number of total points across the region’s 11 schools.
How did you first get into riding?
“I started when I asked my parents to bring me to pony camp when I was 7. I became addicted right after. I got my first horse named Beau — a really naughty pony who used to buck me off all the time. But I loved it, and I started competing and getting more and more serious. I knew I wanted to ride in college, and Colgate had a club team, along with many other things I was looking for in a school, so it felt like a perfect fit.”
What was the transition to Colgate’s program like?
“The style of coaching here is more relaxed than my barn back home, which was a high-pressure environment. Though [this different style of teaching] felt foreign at first, it ultimately helped me rediscover my original love for the sport.”
What stands out about the equestrian community at Colgate?
“People come from a variety of levels, backgrounds, and majors. I made many of my first friends at Colgate through the team, ones I still have today.”
How did it feel to win the Cacchione Cup?
“I’ve always known about it, but I never thought I was in the running until this year, when my coach told me right before my very last show. I was actually head-to-head with another rider for the cup, and when I won, I was extremely proud.”
What’s next for the equestrian team?
“Over the past four years, we’ve gotten much more competitive as a program. We’ve been consistently beating varsity teams, and I’m hoping that having a Cacchione Cup winner will help bring in more funding and allow the team to keep growing.”