Thanks to an empowering professor, Taylor Santosuosso ’22 recently shared her personal horseback riding experiences with the equestrian world.
Taylor’s essay, “What They Don’t Tell You About Horseback Riding,” was published by The Plaid Horse, a popular equestrian magazine.
Taylor took Creative Nonfiction with Professor of English and Department Chair Paul Graham during the Spring 2020 semester as both a prerequisite for veterinary school and because she had an interest in the subject.
“I took honors and AP English classes throughout high school, but as a biology major now, I haven’t had the opportunity to write as much,” she says. “The class had glowing reviews from friends, and I really enjoyed it because my professor pushed me to write about topics with a deeper meaning.”
For one assignment, members of the class were encouraged to write about something a topic they had extensive knowledge about, but others likely wouldn’t. Taylor chose to write about horseback riding.
“In an attempt to write more ‘personally,’ I decided to write about the aspects of the sport that I felt were unfair or I didn’t like,” she says. “I’ve seen so many articles about the pros, but none about the cons. I did not have publishing the piece in mind when I wrote it, but my professor urged me to publish the piece and it took off from there.”
Taylor, who is from Salem, New Hampshire, and is studying biology and business in the liberal arts, is a member of St. Lawrence’s nationally-recognized riding team. She has been riding competitively for 16 years and is hoping to attend veterinary school after graduating. She currently volunteers with the World Vets and New England Equine Rescue North organizations.
The Plaid Horse is a print and digital publishing company providing exceptional coverage for the hunter/jumper/breeding disciplines. The publisher and editor-in-chief is Piper Klemm, an adjunct instructor at St. Lawrence.
