PrintSome past winners of this prestigious championship recall what the experience meant to them.
Every year since 1973 the USEF Cacchione Cup has honored the national individual hunter seat high-point rider in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.
Over the years the coveted prize has been awarded to a broad spectrum of equestrians. Some of them made careers out of riding and went on to win Olympic medals, while others pursued different endeavors. Many of them remained involved with horses regardless of their competitive aspirations.
The winner of the inaugural Cacchione Cup in 1972, riding for the University of Connecticut, Duncan Peters, DVM, MS, still rides and shows hunters and jumpers. He has also played polo, winning national championships in college and later coaching the polo team at the University of California, Davis, where he attended veterinary school.
An FEI-certified equine veterinarian, Peters, 57, Kalis-pell, Mont., is director of the sport horse program at Hagyard Equine Medical Clinic in Lexington, Ky. Peters specializes in performance horse management programs and therapies for equine athletes.
“The [intercollegiate riding] experience was tremendous,” he said. “We were sort of charter members, and there was great camaraderie. Horses have always been an integral part of my life and continue to be. It’s a wonderful group of people to be around. The intercollegiate experience solidified the fact that I wanted to do this as a lifetime career.”
Peters acknowledged that the IHSA program has changed significantly. “At the time it was relatively small, and it’s spectacular how it has grown over the years,” he said. “It shows how a few passionate people can develop something; today all levels of riders can compete equally, in terms of helping their team.”
Stars Of The Sport
Quite a few IHSA champions graduated to become elite riders. In 1984, Beezie Patton (now Madden) won the Cacchione Cup riding for Southern Seminary College (Va.).
Today she’s one of the leading show jumping riders in the world whose accolades include team gold medals from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong, where she and Authentic also earned individual bronze. She also earned team and individual silver medals at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany).
Peter Wylde won the class at the 1986 IHSA Nationals for Tufts University (Mass.). In 2004 Wylde was Madden’s teammate in Athens; he also brought home individual bronze from the 2002 WEG in Spain.
International event rider Mark Weissbecker, winner of the 1973 Cacchione Cup, was short-listed for the Olympic team in 1996. He’s a licensed U.S. Equestrian Federation dressage and eventing judge and a USEF eventing selector.
Despite these professional accomplishments, Weissbecker noted his team and individual intercollegiate championship as among his proudest achievements, especially since the famous Bert de Nemethy judged the 1973 finals.
“It’s very memorable. It wasn’t any kind of a joke; it was a real competition with real horses, real judges,” said Weissbecker. “Bert de Nemethy was one of the most decorated and memorable judges in our history, and to have him choose me over the others was really on the special side.”
Weissbecker grew up riding in Pony Club and eventing, but he was not an experienced equitation rider. The intercollegiate format worked to his advantage since he had plenty of experience riding a variety of horses.
