Newtown’s Clara D’Amico has an extensive horse-riding background and has taken her experience and skill to the collegiate level at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio — and beyond.

Late this fall, D’Amico traveled to the World Equestrian Center Ohio to compete privately with college coach and trainer Heather Pinnick along with a few teammates. She ended her junior career on a high note at the World Equestrian Center Ohio, winning the speed round and placing second in the classic, earning her Reserve Champion in the 1.10 division.

Missing four days of college classes took some planning and diligence but Clara had a great week. Leasing one of Miami’s horses, Kadafi, they jumped clear rounds all week winning the $2,500 Costume Gambler’s Choice 1.0m (dressed as a devil and angel).

“I am very grateful for all the people and horses who have played a part in getting me to this point. To my team at Heritage [Farm] in Katonah, N.Y. and my parents. Your continuous support and dedication has meant the world to me,” said D’Amico, who also expresses her appreciation to Miami University for giving her these opportunities and for a fantastic first semester. “I am so lucky.”

During the season Miami University competed at Midway University, Ky. D’Amico was awarded Reserve High Point Rider with second in both Open Fences and Intermediate Flat and she was first in Intermediate Flat and third in Open Fences, helping Miami to a first-place team finish in the two-day event.

It was quite a fall for D’Amico and her teammates. The team participated in The Tournament of Champions held at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, against riders from Penn State, Skidmore, SCAD, Ohio University, West Texas A&M, Lynchburg, and others. D’Amico clinched the award for High Point Rider at Miami’s first home show of the season winning both the Open Fences and Intermediate Flat divisions. Miami hosted five universities for a two-day competition drawing riders and horses from University of Louisville, Kentucky, Midway, Morehead State, and Cincinnati.

Path To Success

From the first day of preschool when D’Amico snuck two Breyer model horses into her backpack, her passion for horses and riding has never diminished. She began riding at the young age of 4 in Bridgewater. D’Amico always enjoyed her barn time learning how to care for the horses, their tack, and stalls. She read everything she could about horses, always eager to learn more and ride more. Her first pony, an Arabian, known for endurance with a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, came on a magical Christmas morning.

She has continued to ride three to five days a week for the last 14 years. Whether it be rain, snow, frigid temps, extreme heat or even a fever or broken finger she showed up and put in the work.

After a few years riding her pony, Chipotle Gold, her desire to compete in hunter/jumper competitions grew. Hence, her pony was not the right athletic partner for her anymore and she was sold.

Hunter/jumper refers to a specific equestrian discipline in which horses are ridden English style and jump over a series of obstacles or jumps. Within the discipline there are three sub-disciplines: hunters, jumpers, and equitation. Hunter classes are judged on the horse’s movement, style, and jumping form while jumper classes prioritize speed and accuracy to avoid knocking down rails or refusing jumps. Equitation is a hybrid between hunters and jumpers, in which the rider’s abilities are judged subjectively over a more difficult jumper type course.

D’Amico competed mostly in equitation classes for nine years before owning her next horse at the age of 16.

“I’ve always loved competing. Being able to practice at home and then step in the show ring and have it all come together is incredibly rewarding,” D’Amico said.

Throughout elementary and middle school, she continued to improve, gaining knowledge and experience from many local equestrian trainers in the area. D’Amico rode any horse that was available and learned valuable horsemanship skills through summer camp programs and competing on middle school and high school Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) teams.

The IEA is a national organization that utilizes a unique draw-based team competition format whereby riders are not required to own their own horse or tack to participate. Middle and high school teams have local competitions where riders can show across different ability levels for flat classes and over fences classes. Riders can advance as a team or an individual to win Zones and/or Nationals. In 2021, D’Amico proudly became Reserve Champion of her division at Nationals located at the Georgia National Fairgrounds.

IEA has incorporated a way for student equestrian athletes to participate in their sport in a team-based environment, which brings a unique element to the sport. The United States Equestrian Foundation has also developed an Interscholastic Athlete program honoring the hours of training equestrian students devote to their sport with the equivalent of a varsity letter in high school. D’Amico was honored to be recognized by Newtown High School as a three-sport athlete also participating in cross country and track while training as an equestrian year-round.

Next Level

At the age of 16 and entering her junior year of high school, D’Amico decided to take her training to the next level under Andre Dignelli and his team at Heritage Farm in Katonah, N.Y. Her family acquired Calvinia, a beautiful mare whose competitiveness and athleticism matched that of D’Amico’s. This athletic duo was on the fast track and made strides showing indoors at Old Salem Farm and quickly moving up to the Big division.

After a busy spring and summer competing in Lake Placid, Princeton, Saratoga and HITS Saugerties, she qualified to compete at New England Equitation Finals and the National Horse Show in Kentucky in the fall of her senior year against the top 150 riders from all over the country. D’Amico trained hard, attending classes at NHS, driving herself to New York to train during a study hall, and driving back for an additional class and track practice.

This past summer, D’Amico branched out from equitation classes at HITS Saugerties in New York, and started off the summer showing in the 1.10 Junior Jumpers and in the 1.15 Classic on Heritage Farm’s Daybreak Z, finishing third in the Junior Jumpers and second in the Classic. Another exciting moment was when D’Amico placed sixth in the $7,500, 1.15 Classic out of 55 entries also riding Heritage Farm’s Daybreak Z.

D’Amico also showed her own horse Calvinia (Cali) in the equitation. Cali and D’Amico finished seventh in the Maclay and second in the Jumping Seat. The last show of Clara’s Junior career was at HITS Saugerties. Clara and Cali finished 4th in the USEF Medal. After December, since Clara is 18 she is no longer eligible to show as a junior.

D’Amico initially completed a pre-semester riding program with the team. She will be majoring in finance and exploring a master’s degree as well since she entered college with enough credits to place her as a second semester freshman. Miami has a competitive IHSA team that sends riders to nationals every year. Colleges and universities across the country have equestrian teams that compete in either the NCAA or IHSA. The format for these different competition platforms varies, however; in both team formats riders are not allowed to mount their own horses but get random selected rides. Clara had the pleasure of speaking with the founder of IHSA, Bob Cacchione, a resident of Fairfield. He gave her solid advice about honing her horsemanship skills and the enjoyment that being on an IHSA team can bring her in college. Something to aim for is the Cacchione Cup, which one of her trainers at Heritage Farm, Laena Romond, clinched as an undergrad in college.

When home, D’Amico rides with Heritage Farm. “I am extremely lucky that I’ve been able to keep my horse Cali there for the past two years. The entire staff is just so incredible. They take excellent care of all the horses and the training is some of the best in the business. Horses have always been such a huge part of my life. They’ve always been kind of an escape for me from school or anything stressful,” D’Amico said. “I love seeing my progress over the years, especially these past two years, not only in terms of my riding ability, but my growth as a person too. For me it’s just really rewarding to put in all this work and reach my goals.”