White, Upper-Class Freshman Still Not Fitting in with White, Upper-Class Equestrian Teammates

OXLEY EQUESTRIAN CENTER— White, upper-class freshman Rebecca Larson has recently been feeling intense anxiety about fitting in with her white, upper-class teammates on Cornell’s horseback riding team.

“I feel like I won’t fit in here because I’m so different. For one thing, my stable at home was smaller than this place,” she said, grooming her $15,000 horse. “Everyone comes from different backgrounds—a few girls here are blonde, some don’t have more than 5 horses back home, and some girls even went to public school! What am I supposed to talk about with them?”

Larson stated that the other girls have tried to welcome her, but even the bimonthly team caviar luncheons were not helping her feel connected.

“I know we all shop at different designer outlets, but I’m sure we’ll have something in common,” stated Sara Smith ’16, the team’s captain. “We’ll find some similarities—like, maybe we both summer at Cape Cod!”

Larson will remain on the team and is determined to bond with her fellow riders, even if daddy has to buy her some new teammates.