Disney Club

ALLISON BILLIE ALLISON.BILLIE.21@CNU.EDU

The Disney Club of CNU started as a club in the spring of 2018, and has created a happily ever after for all of its members ever since. The club is for fans of all things Disney, from Toy Story to Pirates of the Caribbean. Even if you’re not a Disney fan, there’s no shortage of fun things to do in this club! The club meets weekly, alternating between fun activities and theme weeks. The activities include playing themed games, spa days that make you feel like Disney Royalty, singing karaoke with classic Disney music, and beyond! The theme weeks on the other hand, cover anything from princesses to superheroes. During the club’s Marvel theme week, the club went all out with things to do, and you weren’t limited to just one. There was trivia, coloring sheets, and there was even an opportunity to paint your own infinity stone! The highlight of the night was a Thanos game, where you try to survive the Snap until only one survivor is left standing.

For those who are more interested in watching movies, adventure is out there! Disney Club also does field trips where they go out together and see the newest Disney movies in theaters.

The club has even gone to see Disney on Ice, which is a touring ice group with all your favorite Disney characters.

The real charm of the Disney club however, belongs to its members. Long time Disney fan and coordinator of the club, Skylar Tooks, says, “The club creates a sense of community and a great opportunity to make friends!

Everyone is very welcoming and very fun to be around. You even get the opportunity to play games I’ve never heard of before that were so fun and exciting.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about a whole new world and the happiest club on campus, feel free to reach out to the club president, Emma Faith, at emma. faith.21@cnu.edu, or take a look at the Disney Club of CNU compass page.

MAKENNA SOWARDS

MAKENNA.SOWARDS.20@CNU.EDU

April 1st, 2023 at Goucher College was a rainy, dreary day. The best equestrians from Zone 4 of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association traveled up to eight hours to compete for the chance to go to nationals. Madison Clayton of Christopher Newport University was one of those riders standing in the mud, waiting for their chance to get in the ring. All throughout the competition season, Clayton garnered enough points by placing high in her level to qualify for regionals. At regionals in March, she won second place, earning her a spot at Zones. Nerves were running abound as riders waited for their classes, but Madison was confident.

“Every day I have been practicing with Coach Katie and Coach Dana, and mentally preparing to perform to the best of my abilities,” Clayton said.

Coach Katie and Coach Dana are the CNU equestrian team’s coaches at Foxtail Fields in Smithfield, VA. They have taken on the task of registering riders in the IHSA circuit and training them to compete against other colleges like Sweet Briar University.

After standing around for six and a half hours with nothing to do but watch the competition, Madison was called to draw her horse. In IHSA, you don’t compete with your own horse, you have to ride one of the horses provided by the host school.

This is complicated, because each horse has its own personality, things it likes and doesn’t like for riders to do, things that set it off that other horses don’t blink at. Having to get on a horse without knowing the best technique to work with them and jumping straight into competition is a lot of pressure.

“I’ve been practicing all the possible tests and perfecting, taking my time and thinking through each step and preparing for anything I could be asked for by the judge,” Clayton said as she was getting ready to compete.

Not only did she not know the horse she was competing with, but she also didn’t know which of the nine tests she would be asked to perform, or how many. IHSA is special in how it determines the best riders in the show—those who quickly learn their horse and adapt, making them both look quiet and collected are placed highly.

Madison drew a horse named Vegas, a fleabitten gray who she didn’t have much information about. As she mounted she focused herself and got prepared to compete. After waiting in the rain, and the wind, and finally the sunshine at 1:15pm, Madison finally got her time to show the judge what she was made of.

In her class of ten riders, Madison made her entire team proud by coming in fourth place.