PEABODY — Peabody resident Kathleen Bolduc, a 2019 graduate of Endicott College, received an Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) Senior Athletic Academic Achievement Award. The award was announced April 24.
The Senior Athletic Academic Achievement Awards are presented to IHSA members who have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and have been a member of their intercollegiate equestrian team for a minimum of three years, including their senior year.
“We love seeing our members excel in the classroom as well as in the show ring,” said Peter Cashman, IHSA executive director. “It is our aim that members’ academic and IHSA equestrian experience helps prepare them for life beyond college.”
“This is a testament to my coaches and four years of hard work,” said Bolduc. “My coaches believe I am either the first person at Endicott or one of the first to ever get this award, so receiving this award is truly something, considering there are more than 10,00 members in the IHSA.”
Recipients are typically recognized at IHSA Nationals, but due to COVID-19, the IHSA released the award winners early.
Bolduc, a 2016 graduate of Essex Tech, spent four years on the Gull’s equestrian team. She qualified for the IHSA Regionals in the final show of the fall season, the Babson Show at the Karen Stives ’68 Equestrian Center on the campus of Dana Hall School, finishing third in slip flat riding Eagle. Due to the pandemic, that show has been canceled. Bolduc also qualified for regionals in jumping as a junior.
Bolduc took up riding at the age of eight at Seven Acres Farm in Hamilton. She started in cross country and dressage, but switched to Hunter Jumper when she began riding at Autumn Sky Farm out of Lanes End Farm in Danvers in the fall of her senior year of high school.
She met the equine love of her life about four years ago when Gulls’ head coach, Bethany Jones, adopted a rescue horse named Doug.
“We don’t know much about his past, but he’s been such a wonder to work with,” said Bolduc. “He has the personality of a dog and captures the heart of everyone he meets. He is definitely my favorite, for sure.”
She finished her undergraduate degree requirements in December, 2019, majoring in Business Management & Entrepreneurship. Bolduc is presently studying for her MBA at Endicott. Following completion of the one-year accelerated program next December, Bolduc hopes to go into business.
“I want to start my own business, maybe a restaurant or something in real estate, so I can keep riding and have horses again,” said Bolduc. “With this pandemic, I realize how much I love riding. This is the longest time I have ever gone without riding and I miss that. The trainer is there with the horses, but I miss being there.”
