October 2006 News

Culver Academies is pleased to announce the arrival of Mr. Tom Goodspeed who joins the
staff as the Director of Horsemanship Instruction.  Tom will be responsible for the
horsemanship instruction for the Troop, the Equestriennes, the Lancers, the jumping and polo teams.  Mr. Ed Little will continue to serve the Academies as the Director of Horsemanship Operations.  Ed will be responsible for the horsemanship budget, comprehensive facilities management to include the stable and farming operation, the riding hall, herd acquisition,
health and management.  In addition, Ed will be the single user representative for the
upcoming horsemanship construction project.  This multimillion dollar project will begin this spring and will ultimately result in new stables, paddocks, and renovated riding hall and
armory.  This reorganization recognizes the increasing responsibilities inherent in the challenges involved in running a world class horsemanship program. 

Click here to read our newest newsletter, the Culver Chukker Chatter, Volume I - Winter
2006. (You will need to have Adobe Reader installed).

March 2006 News

February 2006 News

* The CMA Varsity Polo gave Cornell University a game to remember. CMA came back from
a four goal deficit to tie the match in the last few seconds. In the sudden death shootout, Cornell
came out on top. Robert Vaughn, team Captain, was high scorer.

Congratulations to CGA Polo Team taking the semifinals in the USPA Women's Interscholastic
hosted by Yale. CGA defeated Yale 18 to 9 with Bailey Smith as high scorer. CGA was
defeated by Shallow Brook in the finals. Amanda Wadsworth was chosen for the All-star team
as one of the top players in the tournament.

* THE JUMPING TEAM competed in an Interscholastic Equestrian Association Horse
Show at Robert's Arena in Wilmington, Ohio last weekend and brought home several ribbons,
including Hallie Arrigon with first, fourth and sixth-place finishes, Caitlin Schrimsher (sixth,
seventh), Randi Fleener (two fifths, sixth), Roxanne Reiter (fifth, two fourths), Liz Kennedy (two
fifths), Lizzy Robinson (first, second).  They competed in classes where their equitation or form
while riding was judged.  The classes took place over a course of fences and just riding on the
flat.  While at the horse show the students were able to compete against riders from all  19
teams from Zone 5.  Zone 5 is the largest zone in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association
(IEA) and we are proud to be a part of it.  The IEA horse shows provide high school and lower
school students the opportunity to compete against thier peers.  They ride horses that are
provided by the host school.  The students draw their horse's names in the morning and then 
they are only allowed very little warm up before they compete on the horse.  It is an excellent
opportunity for the students to ride lots of different horses, meet new people, and have lots of
fun.

Two Culver Graduates Earn National Polo Awards

Ed Little, Director of Horsemanship and the Culver Academies’ polo coach, has two reasons to
celebrate as former players Michelle Weeks ’05 and Jeff Markle ’00 were recently honored by
the United States Polo Association.

Weeks, 18, of Middlebury, Indiana, was named the Interscholastic Female Polo Player of the
Year, and Markle, 23, of Gates Mills, Ohio, was named the Intercollegiate Male Polo Player of
the Year. Both will travel to Santa Barbara, California, in October to receive their awards at the
prestigious Santa Barbara Polo Club. These awards are presented by the Polo Training
Foundation, the wing of the USPA dedicated to collegiate and scholastic polo.

While a student at Culver Girls Academy, Weeks participated on the polo and jumping teams
each of her four years and was selected as captain of each her senior year. She was also a
member of the Equestriennes, the honor organization of the CGA, and named captain her senior
year as well. Weeks lead the Equestriennes in the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Parade. She is
currently a freshman at the University of the South in Suwanee, Tenn., where she competes on
the equestrian team.

Markle graduated from Culver Military Academy in 2000 where he was captain of the varsity
polo team his junior and senior year and also commander of the Black Horse Troop and the
Lancer Platoon, the honor organization of Culver’s BHT. He participated in the 1997
Presidential Inaugural Parade. While at Culver, Markle earned the rank of Regimental
Commander and was a member of Cum Laude, Culver’s academic honor society. Following his
graduation from Culver, Markle entered Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York, where
he studied civil and environmental engineering. He received his degree this past May. While at
Cornell, he was captain of the Men’s Varsity Polo Team his last two years. Markle and his|
teammates won the NCAA National Polo Championship in April defeating the University of
Virginia. It was the first time in 13 years that the Cornell men were national champions. Markle
led the scoring in the final match with 9 goals. Markle, who also won the high school player of|
the year following his graduation from Culver, is only the third men’s player to have earned both
honors. There has only been one female player to have won both.

Prior to 2000, two players from Culver had won the interscholastic award. In 1987, John
Waggoner was the recipient and Amit Sharma won the award in 1994.