Aug. 31, 2016
By: Margaret Hurt
AUBURN, Ala. - Caitlin Creel, a junior on the Auburn equestrian team, showcased her talent this summer competing around the world in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Before going overseas, Creel spent the month of June competing at Spruce Meadows horse show in Calgary, Alberta. Creel showed her horses Calypso, a 14-year-old Belgium Warmblood, Wizz, a 13-year-old Warmblood, and Nevada, a 12-year-old Warmblood. She captured top eight placings over the four weeks she was there.
Both Wizz and Calypso traveled to Europe with Creel, starting in Belgium at the Knokke Hippique horse show, which presented challenges that she and her horses overcame in stride, quite literally.
"It was a little bit tougher for [Wizz and Calypso] going from Spruce to Knokke because they're both bigger horses and like to have big strides," Creel said. "You have to hold their hand a little bit and get them going and tell them their speed that they need to be at to be successful."
Most riders compete on unfamiliar horses in collegiate riding. However, on her own horses this summer, Creel had the advantage of understanding their strengths and weaknesses. This allowed Creel to alter her riding style in order to produce clean rides in new environments such as the ones she encountered this summer. At Spruce Meadows, riders competed on grass. But in Belgium, the show featured a sand arena, a change that can prove difficult for horses to adjust to.
"That was a challenge, having to go from that [Spruce Meadows] to a small ring," Creel said. "And then the other two shows were again grass, so then I had to re-adjust to that terrain of up and down, uneven long gallops to jump."
The change in footing proved to be no trouble for Creel and her horses. On Calypso, she placed fifth in the 1* grand prix class in the Jumping International de Dinarde horse show held in France. 1* meaning the obstacles were at heights of 1.40 meters.
For Creel, outside competition of any kind helped her maintain her competitive edge for when she returned to Auburn for this fall. Being able to ride multiple horses a day during breaks in semesters and over the summer has allowed her to practice maneuvers over and over again. Being able to take advantage of having horses to ride and time to ride them has helped Creel to prepare for her individual competitions as well as her rides for her team.
"When I'm with my team, I put a lot of pressure on myself because I want to do well for the team," Creel said. "I think it depends on the outside stakes of the competition but probably in general I get more intense about collegiate competition."
Finishing out her summer with a Top 10 placing at the Longines Global Champions Tour at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands, Creel has since returned to Auburn and is practicing with her team, preparing for the Tigers' first meet Friday, Sept. 23, at 3 p.m. against Ole Miss.