In February 2024, Eva Crowley was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Type B, an aggressive form of blood cancer. Over the next seven months, she did 12 rounds of chemotherapy every other week at Duke University Hospital in North Carolina.

While undergoing treatments, Crowley made a bucket list with three major goals on it: to show at the World Equestrian Center—Ocala (Florida) with her junior hunter Please Watch Me; to qualify and show him at the Adequan/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships; and to qualify and show at USEF Pony Finals for her final junior year. 

“When you have an experience like this, it’s more of ‘while I’m able to do this, I should do this,’ ” said Crowley, now 18. “I’ve always had these goals in mind, but I wanted to make them a reality.”

Although she was encouraged by her doctors to stop riding during treatment, Crowley had other ideas and gained strength from Please Watch Me. She even scheduled shows between her rounds of chemotherapy.

“ ‘Pac-Man’ is what got me through all of that,” she said of the 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Parabol—Final Watch) owned by Julianna D’Alto. “He’s the best horse and the safest horse. I knew he would take care of me.”

In November 2024, Crowley and Pac-Man qualified for this year’s USEF Junior Hunter National Championships—East at the Jump for Charity show in Raleigh, North Carolina. With that item on her bucket listed teed up to accomplish, Crowley then set her sights on competing at WEC—Ocala. She set up and organized every aspect of the trip from her home in Durham, North Carolina, right down to booking the rental car. In January 2025, she showed Pac-Man in the 3’3” large junior hunters and a USHJA National Derby during Winter Spectacular IV at WEC—Ocala. 

In the process, she got an unexpected and deeply appreciated surprise.

Crowley has spent many of her junior years riding and working at Pleasant Hill Farm with trainers Cammie Fielding and Meaghan Kearns in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Unbeknownst to Crowley, Fielding had written a letter nominating Crowley for the Hannah M. Serfass Scholarship. Although Crowley didn’t win the scholarship, Serfass’ mom, Janine Serfass, reached out directly to Fielding and offered to give Crowley the Hannah Serfass WEC—Ocala Grant instead, which helped cover the cost of her show fees and expenses. 

“The Serfass family is so kind and generous for giving back to this sport in the way that they have chosen to,” Crowley said. “I was honored to receive that.”

In June, to finish that other item on her list, Crowley packed up her bags and headed to junior hunter finals at the Kentucky Horse Park to compete in the 3’3” large junior hunter, 16-17, division. She and Pac-Man placed 20^th  of 94 competitors in the classic round, while an unfortunate rail in the handy kept them out of the overall ribbons. 

“Pac-Man was phenomenal there,” Crowley said. “When I first started leasing him [three years ago], he was only supposed to be my children’s hunter. But we’ve been working hard with him, and he’s more than capable of doing this job too.”

With two out of her three bucket list goals completed, Crowley turned her sights to attending her last USEF Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park in August. It would also be her final horse show before she headed off to Sweet Briar College (Virginia) for her freshman year. Although Crowley did qualify a large pony for the division, she learned two weeks prior to the competition that he would be unable to attend. 

“My entries were already submitted, and my accommodations were already booked,” Crowley said. “I really wanted to make this happen, so I decided it was time to try and find a catch ride.” 

She posted on every Facebook page related to Pony Finals she could find and called as many people as she could think of. “There were so many people who shared my posts, commented, offered me their ponies,” she said. “I’m so grateful to all of them.”

Trainer Greg Crolick of Greg Crolick Show Stables had the perfect large pony for Crowley: So Dreamy, a 9-year-old German Riding Pony (Diamond Touch—Mascarpone) owned by El Manto LLC. 

“ ‘Dreamy’ was so lovely,” Crowley said. “Greg and his barn were amazing. He gave me lessons in the days leading up to showing, and he definitely did not have to do that.”  Dreamy and Crowley ended up 27^thout of 150 ponies in the model and had a respectable trip in the over fences class.

Then, when Crowley discovered that there was a horsemanship test that she could take while she was at Pony Finals, she jumped at the chance. The teen has a decade of hands-on experience caring for her horses. The Emerson Burr Horsemanship Grant, which was created in memory of the late Emerson Burr to encourage and promote proper horsemanship in young riders, felt like a perfect fit for her. Grant winners are selected by taking a two-part exam that begins with a 20-question, multiple-choice test followed by a hands-on test for the top four scoring junior riders in each age group. 

“There were some pretty challenging questions [on the written test],” Crowley said, “but I’ve hung around the barn so much as a kid that I’ve seen many of the things they asked about on the test. I’m someone who has grown up doing all the care on their horse—we don’t have full care at my barn.” 

Several of the topics chosen for the test questions included plants that horses are allergic to, types of horseshoes, and what tools are used to perform a dental exam on a horse. 

Although Crowley received what she thought was an average score on the written exam, she was invited back for further hands-on testing two days later. Crowley was asked to demonstrate how to properly put tendon boots on, when to use a standing wrap, and how to properly fit a saddle and bridle. Her last task was to lead a pony in a straight line. 

Later that evening, Crowley learned that she was the winner in her 15-17 age group and received a $500 grant to be used for continuing education. 

“I was shocked. They must have liked my answers for the hands-on portion,” she said. “I think it’s phenomenal that USEF is still supporting tests like these. In an age where it seems that there are so many kids who show up and hop on their tacked-up pony or horse right before they show, it’s nice to see that horsemanship is still being encouraged.”

Not only did Crowley win the Emerson Burr Grant, but she also won the $1,500 Taylor Madison Orlowski First Timer Grant—another one Fielding nominated her for—earlier in the week at Pony Finals. The winner of the grant, which helps toward the expense of showing at Pony Finals, is chosen based on their strong horsemanship and sportsmanship skills. 

“I couldn’t believe that I had been chosen for a marvelous opportunity like that,” Crowley said. “I feel so lucky to have so many people and families supporting me for my last junior year. I feel very fortunate.”

Fielding is proud of Crowley for chasing after her dreams. 

“Eva’s parents were wonderful about making this all happen for her,” Fielding said. “Eva had the courage to push for these goals, and she pushed me out of my comfort zone to do these new shows and championships with her,” added Fielding, who attended her first Junior Hunter Finals thanks to Crowley. “I will be adding several of these to our students’ calendar and goals in the future.”

Now that Crowley has completed her bucket list and is off to college, Pac-Man is still enjoying life at Pleasant Hill Farm with a new rider for the time being. 

“I made the decision to leave him there while I went to school, and although I really miss him, I think it was the right choice for him,” Crowley said. “He goes outside in a huge field with seven other horses; he loves his friends. … I didn’t have it in me to take him away from all of that. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

More than a year later, Crowley’s cancer has continued to remain in remission. 

“With this type of cancer—if you’re in remission for a year, it’s extremely unlikely that it will come back,” she said. “So that’s huge news, and I’m glad to have that behind me.”