With the spring semester at St. Joseph’s University, New York in full swing, so is the Equestrian Team on its Long Island campus, with three members competing at the regional level.
The team, founded almost 40 years ago by Sheila Rogers, the owner of Good Shepherd Farm, travels and competes at multiple shows a semester.
“We participate and travel to horse shows, which are individual competitions against other colleges in our zone held on mostly Sundays during the semesters, Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone Two, Region Four,” said Angelina Veverka, Captain of the Equestrian Team. “Our zone consists of other universities like Sacred Heart, Long Island University, Stony Brook, Molloy, Hofstra, Adelphi, Fairfield and New York University.”
Riding at the Regional Level
For the 2025-2026 academic year the team had three members make it to the regional level of competition.
“All three of our members that competed at regionals earned enough points in the fall or spring semester this year to class out of their previous division. Each rider needs 36 points to class out of a division, and each ribbon first through fifth place corresponds with a specific amount of points. At the regional competition, riders from our region compete in the division that they classed out of,” said Veverka.
Olivia Ramcke competed in the Intermediate Flat class, where she was randomly assigned a horse to demonstrate her equitation (form), position at the walk, trot, canter and jumping position, and how well she rode amongst the other riders, earning her the fifth-place title.
SJNY Equestrian Members Eustorgio Urbano, Angelina Veverka amd Olivia Ramcke all placed on the regional level.
Angelina Veverka competed in the Limit Flat class, which required two heats with different horses each time. In the first heat against 13 other riders, Veverka demonstrated her position in all three gaits, and was amongst the seven riders called back to compete again. After the second heat she earned the seventh-place title.
Eustorgio Urbano competed in the Introductory Flat class, where he was randomly assigned a horse to demonstrate his position at the walk and trot, earning the third-place title.
Aside from competitions, the team also hosts events like Open Barn where students can learn about the team; Night at the Races, a fundraiser where members compete in stick pony races; and their home show, where all the universities in Region Four come together to compete at Good Shepherd Farm.
Participation and Additional Information
The team does not require any experience to join, and takes new members at any time throughout the year.
“There is no experience necessary to join the team! If someone wants to join the team, they can send us an email ([email protected]) at any time or send us a message on our social media (@sjli_equestrianteam),” said Veverka.
Photos From SJNY’s Equestrian Team
