Belle Syrett repeats the same words to herself before each show.
“My dad always told me when I was gonna go ride, he was like, ‘Just ride the horse, just ride the horse,’ so that’s kind of what I channel before I’m gonna do it — ‘It’s just a horse, you’re gonna be fine,’” said Syrett, adding it helps calm her nerves before a big performance.
That calming phrase came in handy again recently, moments before the Stonewall, Man., product debuted in the Eastern College Athletic Conference equestrian championship in Martin, Tenn.
Facing South Dakota State in the quarterfinals, the second-year rider — representing the University of Minnesota Crookston — capped a strong sophomore campaign by leading the Golden Eagles in flat riding (a series of dressage exercises performed on flat ground) with a score of 65.5.
Though the Golden Eagles narrowly lost 11–9, it marked the fifth time Syrett led her team in the flat category. She also paced the squad in the fences discipline — jumps that riders and horses navigate — in three of 10 meets this season.
“I think we all knew what it meant to do well here, because we hadn’t won a meet all year, and South Dakota State, we are always very, very close with,” said Syrett, who missed last year’s conference championship due to a back injury.
“We knew if we were going to do it, it was going to be in the first round. So I think the pressure was on for all of us, and we all just really wanted to do our best.”
The Golden Eagles are an up-and-coming NCAA program, with a 34-rider roster composed mostly of first- and second-year athletes. Syrett was at the forefront of a formative season. Though the team finished winless at 0-11, she expressed optimism for what’s to come.
“We had a lot of firsts in program history this year. It was a very instrumental year of us growing and really seeing the results we needed to see to progress,” she said.
“The progress we made from last season to this season was huge. We have awards at the end of meets called Most Outstanding Players — we had a record high of those, and we had a lot of record-breaking rides from other girls on the team.”
The team element came as an unexpected learning curve for Syrett. In Manitoba, equestrian had always been an individual pursuit. She’d cheer on fellow riders from her barn but never competed in a team format.
That changed when she crossed the border.
“I think it adds a lot more pressure, but at the same time, having a team and the support system we have — we’re a 34-girl team and I feel like they’re some of my best friends I’ll ever find in this world — it’s just being able to have those people you practise with all the time, you see in the barn all the time, and then you get to travel with them to show is also such a great experience,” Syrett said.
“But at the same time, you never want to let them down.”
Syrett certainly held up her end of the bargain. She became the first rider in program history to be named MOP in a flat competition in November and was later honoured as the conference’s flat rider of the week.
She also rides for the Golden Eagles in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, where she was the Zone 7, Region 3 champion in both open flat and open fences this season. She earned the Cacchione Cup, awarded annually to the national high-point rider.
“I was super happy with my season,” said Syrett, noting she was grateful to stay healthy and start every competition.
The Quarry Ridge Pony Club alum is majoring in equine business management, with hopes of one day becoming a competitive show jumper and owning a training business.
In the meantime, she’s focused on helping the Golden Eagles rise through the ranks.
“I want to be putting out rides that I’m really proud of,” she said.
“This format is very challenging, because you get there, you get on the horse, you have a four-minute warm-up, and then you’re expected to go in there and put probably one of the best rides you ever could every time you walk into the ring. So I just want to keep putting out consistent scores — scores that I’m proud of — and I just want to be very consistent across the board.”
