Mercy Girl Shines at National Equestrian Competition

A rising Mercy High School senior is well on her way to becoming a superstar in the equestrian world after taking top honors in a national competition and featured in Sports Illustrated magazine.

Emelie Burgess of Wethersfield, who just completed her junior year at Mercy in Middletown, was among hundreds of the nation's leading middle school and high school equestrians competed at The New York State Fairgrounds April 19-21 for the Interscholastic Equestrian Association National Finals sponsored by Dover Saddlery and the American Quarter Horse Youth Association in Syracuse, N.Y. 

The finalists represented 889 teams and over 8,000 student-riders from eight zones throughout the United States. Individuals and teams participated in multiple competitions during the 2012-2013 regular season shows, regional and zone finals to qualify for the IEA National Finals competition.

In the individual competition, Burgess, who rides for the Windcrest Equestrian Team of Hebron, was named the IEA Leading Hunt Seat Rider of the Year, winning the Varsity Open Championship class.

Riders competed in Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences classes and Equitation on-the-flat classes throughout the weekend. The IEA format requires that riders compete in unfamiliar tack on unfamiliar mounts; therefore, they draw their horses the day of competition and enter the arena after a brief, if any, warm-up.

Burgess was featured in the May 20 issue of Sports Illustrated as one of a handful of nationwide "Faces in the Crowd," and recently completed the United States Equestrian Federation's High School Equestrian Athlete program. 

This program was developed to provide recognition for the accomplishments of young equestrians and encourage their future involvement in equestrian sport. USEF recognizes the dedication of equestrians preparing for competition through practice and training sessions as similar to other students in high school athletic programs and developed this program to honor individual achievements with a varsity letter in the student's chosen sport, regardless of the availability of an equestrian team or club through their school.