Over the summer several Palisades High students thought it would be neat to start an equestrian team, so they shared their idea with Russ Howard, the school’s Director of Student Activities, Athletics & Discipline. The wheels were set in motion and, on December 6 at Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace, freshman Chiara Ciacci and sophomore Haley Berman competed in Palisades’ first official Interscholastic Equestrian League event. With the help of fellow students and riders, senior Julia Wood and freshman Brittany Clark, the girls went through the necessary steps to turn their passion into a recognized sport at Palisades, although it does not count as a class. “Anyone who rides and has access to a horse can join,” said Berman, who has been riding for three years. “It’s sort of like a club but we call ourselves a team. The season goes from October through April and consists of four shows. It’s a great way to represent your school and we’re hoping to get a few more members next year.” The competition consists of four divisions, rated as follows from easiest to hardest: Novice, Freshman, JV and Varsity. The harder the division, the higher the fences, the sharper the turns and the longer the jumps are. Protocol is for the riders’ barn to trailer the horse to the competition. Berman, who started riding at Mill Creek in Topanga Canyon but now trains with Jen Dallis of Punk Pony Riding School in Chatsworth, competes in Novice, where she took fifth place in Equitation on the Flat, 11th place (out of 57 riders) in Handy Hunter over Fences and third (out of 57) in Equitation over Fences. “Hunter competitions judge how well the horse works while Equitation judges the riders themselves,” explained Berman, who competed on a Hanoverian chestnut named Kennedy (show name ‘Power Play’). “I switched to a new horse a few months ago because I couldn’t use my horse at Mill Creek. I like the sport because this gives me a way to work with animals.” Berman, 16, admits she isn’t into more traditional sports like volleyball and basketball. Prior to joining the IEL, she had only competed in one small competition last summer. She has grown up in the Palisades, attending Marquez Elementary and then Paul Revere Middle School. Though only a ninth-grader, Ciacci has been riding for four years and competed in the JV division in her IEL debut, finishing 11th out of 30 riders in Equitation on the Flat. She trains under the tutelage of Brian Flanagan at Cloverfield Farm in Malibu on a German Warmblood bay horse named Troy. “We all kind of brought it up–it was a conjoined effort,” Ciacci said of the team. “Julia and Brittany weren’t able to do it but they were instrumental in getting it started. It took as awhile to get all the forms filled out but I’m glad we did.” Ciacci, who attended Willows School in Culver City prior to PaliHi, also competed in one prior show–Camelot in Santa Clarita–in September. The 15-year-old used to play volleyball and soccer at school, but has always enjoyed being in the saddle. “It’s a fun and challenging sport,” she said. “I’ve always loved horses and I try to ride two or three days a week. The league is co-ed but it’s mostly girls.”
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