With New Coach, the Women’s Equestrian Team is Set For 2025-2026 Season

Photo: Alexa Carey & Uma Comfort

New Coach Nicolle Madonna Cerio walks with her team

After decades of riding horses and teaching equestrian lessons to local middle and high school students, Nicolle Madonna Cerio couldn’t be more excited to start her new role as the head coach of Cornell University’s Women’s Equestrian Team this year.

“If you asked me a year ago if I’d be standing here doing this, I would’ve laughed quite honestly,” she said at the Oxley Equestrian Center in early October, with her 1-year-old barn dog Carl by her side. “Everything usually works out for a reason, and I [really] feel like I belong here. I’m very, very excited.”

Madonna Cerio took over for former coach Joanna Novakovic in June after an extensive hiring process, including interviewing over the phone and in person, teaching a riding lesson, and interacting with graduating members of the team.

While the direct process of earning the coaching position only took a couple of months, Madonna Cerio had this role in the back of her mind for years. She unsuccessfully applied over a decade ago while interviewing against Novakovic, and soon after founded CNY EQ, a business based near Syracuse, NY dedicated to coaching teenage riders in their equestrian careers. Once she caught wind of the position at Cornell opening up again early this year, she knew she had to give it another go.

“I did know that the head coach was leaving, so I knew and had conversations before it was officially posted, but then had to do all the normal things,” Madonna Cerio said. “I’ve owned my own business for quite a long time, so I even had to make myself a new resume because I had nothing even saved on my current laptop. I know that sounds silly, but I haven’t worked other than the private sector in a really, really long time. I thought about it and then decided that I would be really disappointed if I didn’t heavily pursue it, so I did and I don’t regret it.”

Madonna Cerio and the Women’s Equestrian Team got their season off to a strong start when they earned the High Point Team title (first place) at their second show of the season against RIT on October 12. They received the Reserve High Point Team title (second place) in their first show at RIT the day before. Erin Morera, a sophomore who earned the individual High Point Rider title for the Big Red at RIT, hopes to continue the momentum on the way to achieving her main goal of the season.

“Hopefully, this year we’ll make it to Nationals,” she said. “Last year, we got pretty close. That’d be great if we got to this year. We have a new coach this year, as well, so I’m excited to get to know her.”

Photo: Alexa Carey & Uma Comfort

Barn dog Carl, a Jack Russell, looks on from the Oxley Equestrian Center

And it sounds like it’s so far, so good with how the team has adjusted to having Madonna Cerio as their new coach.

“I really like her,” Morera said. “She has a lot of really great experience that she’s bringing, and she’s brought some of her own horses, which is really great. I got to ride one of them the other day, and he was amazing. I had a lot of fun in that lesson. I’m excited to keep learning.”

Cornell’s Women’s Equestrian Team is part of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, in which riders compete at three different heights of fences (chosen based on each rider’s experience) and work with randomly selected horses. The athlete who rides their horse through the course with the most ease and grace is awarded the victory. This presents both a fun yet difficult challenge for the team.

Photo: Alexa Carey & Uma Comfort

An equestrian horse jumps over a hurdle

“I love riding all the different horses at the different schools, but that’s hard because you have no idea what they’re going to be like,” Morera said. “You’ve never ridden them before. You can expect one thing and get a totally different one.”

Estelle Azurin, another sophomore on the team, believes the challenge of riding random horses is what differentiates the good riders from the best.

“That’s what makes it good because if you’re a good rider, you should be able to sit on anything,” she said.

Azurin said one of the best parts of being on the team is being able to bond with the horses. It’s something she’s able to look forward to while navigating her coursework.

“Being around horses is a really big stress reliever,” she said. “I think if I didn’t have it to physically get me away from my desk, I would be miserable. It’s really nice to be able to go and see everybody in the morning, even if it’s at 5:30 AM. It’s a very calming environment.”

This season, Azurin hopes to increase her self-confidence and work well as a team with an unusually large group of 19 new members.

“Just being more sure of myself,” she said. “That’s half the battle, telling yourself that you can do it when you actually have to do it. I’m hoping that we’ll have a really good outlook this year with so many new people on the team and a new coach, as well. So far, it’s been great.”

One rider with ambitious yet realistic goals is senior Riley Gerardo, who earned the prestigious Cacchione Cup Champion title at least year’s Zone Championships. She earned this honor after becoming the region’s High Point Rider for the season, which qualified her to compete for the title at Zones. There, she represented the region and earned the highest overall score against other top riders across multiple disciplines, winning the Cacchione Cup. This year, she hopes to defend her crown.

“I would love to be the Cacchione rider for our region again like I was last year so that I get to go compete at Zones for the Cacchione Cup again,” she said. “The really big goal would be to make Nationals again this year, but that’s a really hard thing to do.”

With this being her last season competing for Cornell, Gerardo is prepared for an emotional journey.

“It’ll definitely be a bittersweet year for me. …I’m already so sad that it’s my last first competition of the season,” she said, just over a week before the show against RIT. “I’m also excited. New coach this year, so I’m excited to see how that goes. We also have 19 rookies this year, so I’m excited to see their progress throughout the year and watch everyone’s growth. It’ll definitely be a sad ending for me. I’m really lucky that I have my own personal horse, so it’s not the end of my riding career forever, but it’ll definitely be sad to leave the team and all of my friends.”

Gerardo is already off to a strong start for the Big Red this season, recording a first-place effort while riding over open fences (3 feet tall) at the first RIT show and winning once again in the open flat discipline at the second show.

After competing at RIT, the Big Red returned to place second in a show at Alfred University on October 19.

The Women’s Equestrian Team won their first home show of the season on Sunday, November 2 at the Oxley Equestrian Center, located a short walk from the main Cornell campus. They will host another show Sunday, February 15 before the Regional Championships take place here on Sunday, March 8.