Mahomet Family Dentistry Athlete of the Week: Small Village Equestrian Team Gallops into National Spotlight
By FRED KRONER
This is a story 10 years in the making. That’s when it begins.
The ending has yet to be written.
It centers around White Heath (which had 153 residents as of the 2020 census), a village that will be thrust into the national spotlight later this month.
Thanks to the exploits of six area teen-aged girls – all of whom are passionate about horses – JG Equestrian, based in rural White Heath, will have a team entry in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) Nationals, to be held from April 25-28 in Mill Springs, N.C.
They represent the first team under the tutelage of trainers Jamie Gerardi and her daughter, Sydney Savage, to advance to Nationals.
The JG team is among the top 18 in the country in the high school Hunt Seat division.
The girls on the team are from four different high schools. Ayla Finfrock and Aubrey Meints are Mahomet-Seymour students. Kaila Juday and Madeline Lofrano attend Urbana High School. Madeline LaMontagne represents St. Thomas More and Abagail Teague is from Champaign Central.
Gerardi opened her facility 10 years ago, when her daughter was a teen-ager. In Year 7 of its operation (2021), JG had individuals compete at Nationals for the first time.
One of those breakthrough riders from three years ago – Finfrock, who was then a sixth-grader – will not only compete for the team this year, but also individually in Intermediate Equitation on the flat, varsity division.
Teammate Lofrano will participate at Nationals as an individual as well, in the Novice Equitation on the flat, junior varsity division.
Both girls are veterans in the show ring. Finfrock began taking lessons from Gerardi as a 3-year-old. She is now in her ninth year as a competitor.
Lofrano also began riding at age 3.
She didn’t expect to qualify as an individual.
“I had a few minor mess-ups,” Lofrano said, “so I didn’t really think I would place first or second. I was super-surprised when I found out I got second in my individual class.
“I felt really proud because I knew I had been wanting this for a while.”
The qualifying meet for Nationals – where Finfrock and Lofrano excelled – was the Zone Finals, held in Gurnee from March 22-24.
On Day 1, Finfrock set the tone for the weekend when she secured her advancement as an individual.
With at least a dozen competitors in each of the classes, Finfrock said it was impossible to assess how she would fare.
“The ride felt good,” she said. “It’s hard to tell how you did because you can’t watch anyone else.”
Her performance, however, turned out to be a spark for the JG Equestrian team.
“That takes a little pressure off because it means we are advancing with at least one person,” Gerardi said.
“Going into Saturday (events), we knew one person had qualified,” Lofrano added, “so we were already pretty excited.”
To reach Nationals, individuals had to place either first or second in their individual classes.
The same scoring system existed in the team competition. Only the top two entries out of 13 were guaranteed advancement.
The JG Equestrian program has made strides the past three years. In 2022, they were seventh in the Zone Finals.
“Last year,” Gerardi said, “We were one point off of qualifying for Nationals.”
In last month’s Zone Finals, at Gurnee, the outcome came down to the final JG entry in the day’s final class. Finfrock was up for the challenge.
Even though Finfrock’s teammates were confident, there was still a level of uncertainty.
“Before the last class there were too many possible outcomes to even try to guess how it would go,” LaMontagne said. “We knew Ayla was going to turn in a great ride, but we didn’t know how the other teams would do.”
When the announcement was made, and it was official that JG Equestrian had clinched the final qualifying berth as the reserve champions – finishing one point in front of third-place True Course – it took a moment for the news to register.
“When I found out our team was advancing, it was kind of mind-blowing,” Teague said. “I think it took a while for the thought to process in our heads.”
Even before the JG riders arrived at the Zone Finals, Gerardi had a good feeling about the possible outcome.
“We have a very strong high school team this year,” she said. “I’m always worried about getting too excited, but this year we had the team to do it.”
Gerardi and Savage had the squad members prepared for the rigors of the Zone Finals, but knowing what to do and dealing with the nerves and excitement are often two different things.
Meints has her own philosophy to relieve stress.
“Before I compete, I think of how lucky I am to be able to do this and that calms my nerves usually,” Meints said. “Before we left for Zones, we all rode every day, sometimes multiple times (a day), in order to be prepared enough for anything that could have happened.”
The repetition of repeated practices served to build confidence. They felt like there was nothing they hadn’t experienced.
“The girls will ride at least five days a week,” Gerardi said. “Most of them have other sports to work around, but we do before school, or after practice.
“We all just make it work because it’s important to us all.”
For LaMontagne, her days start early.
“It’s riding, school, and sleeping,” she said. “Some days I start my day at 4:30 a.m. to be ready for a 5:30 a.m. lesson at Jamie’s before school.
“After school I go straight to my grandparent’s barn (in Urbana) for barn chores and to ride my own horse Dawson. Getting ready for Zones, I would often also fit in another ride on my sister’s horse, Cooper, too.”
Many of the girls on the JG team have varied interests beyond horses.
Finfrock is a sprinter on the M-S track team. Meints plays basketball for the Bulldogs. Teague throws the shot put and discus at Champaign Central and also takes weekly piano lessons.
Lofrano is a swimmer and has a heavy course load at Urbana.
“I’m in some harder classes this year so I’ve really had to work on my time management and getting homework done,” Lofrano said.
Without exception, the teens believe the time spent in pursuit of excellence with horses has already provided valuable life lessons.
“Responsibility, adaptability and teamwork are just a few,” LaMontagne said.
“I have learned so many life lessons, but one that means the most for me is how to be a reliable and hard worker,” Meints said. “I enjoy how rewarding and comforting working with horses is.”
There is no substitute for the commitment needed and time required to reach the pinnacle of success.
“Riding has also made me have a really good work ethic,” Lofrano said. “You realize really quickly that you have to work hard if you want to do well, so I feel like that’s one of my biggest takeaways from riding for a while.
“I feel like riding has taught me a lot about responsibility.”
For Teague, the time spent at the barn and handling the horses is something that has already made her a better person.
“I enjoy the happiness working with horses gives me,” Teague said. “Whenever I don’t feel good or have a bad day, spending time with a horse helps me to focus on something else that isn’t me.
“I have learned how to be responsible for an animal that is completely reliant on me to make sure he’s brushed and is fed. Riding horses has taught me how to be responsible and open-minded.”
The time the teen-agers have devoted – for some such as Finfrock, Juday and Lofrano, it is already more than a decade – is only a partial reason for why they have reached an elite level.
They credit Gerardi and Savage for the pivotal role they played.
“(Jamie) makes us better riders and horsemen, but also better competitors, better teammates and better people because of how she teaches us,” LaMontagne said. “I’m so thankful for Jamie for all the time and effort she spends on all of us.”
Finfrock recognizes the success is not something she could have achieved on her own.
“I have become the rider I am today all because of them,” Finfrock said. “I thank Jamie and Sydney for all of their time, patience and knowledge.”
Added Meints: “Their help never goes a day without being appreciated. Both Jamie and Sydney do so much for everyone at their barn.”
Teague agrees that Gerardi and Savage have had a significant impact, but said credit must also go elsewhere.
“I also want to thank my mom (Jacquelyn Teague) who, after years of begging, let me have my first riding lesson four years ago.” Abagail Teague said.
As for what’s next, as the team prepares for the grand finale in North Carolina, Gerardi said the pressure is off.
“I am not planning to be nervous at Nationals because everyone will be extra nervous and I want to be calm, cool and collected,” she said.
That mindset is the norm for LaMontagne.
“I don’t get nervous,” she said. “I get very focused.”
Finfrock plans to draw on her previous experience at Nationals (she advanced in the 2-foot jumping class in 2021) as she gets ready for the upcoming four-day event.
“It takes a lot of preparation for the larger shows because there’s a lot of competition and the judge can test in several different ways,” Finfrock said. “I ride my horse and another horse at the barn six days a week.
“Jamie has us ride a variety of horses to get used to different styles.”
At the competitions, riders are assigned to horses by blind draw. There’s no guarantee they will be with a horse they have ever seen before.
LaMontagne said it’s important to simply seize the opportunity they face.
“A lesson that I’ve learned from past IEA shows is: ride the horse that you have right now,” LaMontagne said. “You can have the worst ride on a horse you really like and know well, or you can have the best ride on a horse you thought you wouldn’t enjoy.
“You have to ride the horse you have and not wish for something different.”
Even for relative newcomers in the show ring like Teague – who is in her second year of competition – there is a good sense of what to expect.
“I’ve learned from experience that the judges start judging you when you get on your horse,” Teague said. “It is always best to leave a good first impression.
“My goal going into Nationals is to hopefully place in the top 10 or better, and have a really good ride that I can be happy about.”
As each day passes, the story continues to be written. More chapters are ahead, even for those who in a few years will age out of the high school competition.
While the future features much uncertainty, there is one thing that Finfrock knows for sure.
“I’m not sure exactly what I will be doing in 15 years, but I will be heavily involved with horses in my day-to-day life,” Finfrock said.
“Fifteen years from now I see myself having a job that I love, most likely dentistry or something medical,” Lofrano said, “but I still want time to ride on the side.
“I would love to have a couple horses that I can show and ride when I have the time.”
Teague is also looking ahead in the hopes of matching a career with her hobby.
“Hopefully, I will be working with horses and other farm animals to make sure they’re healthy,” Teague said. “I want to start opening up my own veterinarian clinic to help animals.”
The more immediate future is what riders from JG Equestrian are planning for the moment that the time will arrive when the IEA Nationals take place.
LaMontagne is pleased to be part of the history-making part of Gerardi’s program.
“We have such a fun team,” LaMontagne said. “It was a dream come true for all of us.”
The camaraderie among the riders can’t be overlooked, Finfrock said.
“I have made some of my closest friends through the sport,” Finfrock said.
If horses could talk, they would likely agree.
