The equestrian team has gotten off to a great start this season, winning its first two shows. At Bruno's home show last week, Allison Dungey '13 helped the squad capture first place by winning the third class. For her outstanding performance at the Brown Show, the Herald has named her Athlete of the Week.
Herald: How is the equestrian team doing this season?
Dungey: We're now leading the region by about 18 points, so really well.
So what made you start riding horses, and when did you start?
Well, I wanted to start riding when I was younger, probably first grade when my friend had a birthday party and there was a pony ride, so of course I fell in love with horses then. I wanted riding lessons and my mother thought it was just a phase, like most girls will go through. Then, years later, when I still wanted to, she kind of caved and got me riding lessons, and I've been riding ever since ... .That was probably about eight years ago.
What was the name of the first horse that you rode?
The first horse that I rode — if you want to look back to that pony — that pony's name was Chestnut. The first actual horse that I rode, its name was Sublime. It was actually funny because after I rode him, my mom decided to get on and he actually bucked her off, which didn't really help for her love of horses.
Sell the equestrian team to our readers. Why should we come and support you, or if we can't come, why should we learn more about you?
The equestrian team is phenomenal. I have a lot of good friends just from the team. As any team, we get to be pretty close-knit. I mean, we're pretty special because you don't need to be the best rider around or need to have ridden for years and years to join the team. You can really be a dead-end beginner who's never been on a horse and be on the team because we need people at every single level, and there's a great mutual respect between the athletes on the team for those people who have been riding less versus those who've been riding more.
Are you a big sports fan outside of the equestrian team? What sports teams do you root for?
Well, I root for baseball and football teams, being the Yankees and the Patriots.
The Yankees and the Patriots? Isn't that an odd combination?
I know. The Yankees are a little dicey for me because I've grown up in Rhode Island, but my parents are from New York and that's how I justify it. I've been born and bred a Yankees fan and brought up that way, so it would be weird if I was a Red Sox fan.
OK, so you are from Rhode Island. What are two must-do things in your state for Brown students that they haven't heard before?
I would definitely say go and hang out in Newport, but that's probably a big thing. So I'm just going to say you have to go hang out in historic Wickford because that's where I'm from and everyone should do that — Wickford Village. And I'm going to make a push for my favorite coffee place — that's Jitters Cafe. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with it.
What are you studying?
Right now, I'm bouncing between political science and English, probably with the thought of going on to law school when I graduate. But I'm not sure what I'm going to declare at the end of the year.
Did equestrian have any effect on choosing a college?
I definitely knew that when I went to school, it had to have an equestrian team. That was a major part of it for me. And then I loved Brown and the team was excellent here, so that was a big plus. But I was pretty much going to be happy anywhere that had a team. I was fortunate enough that Brown did, and I loved Brown the most, so I lucked out.
And you wanted to get as far away from home as possible?
Oh, definitely (laughs). For me, I didn't grow up in Providence or go there a lot, so I may as well be across the country, it's so different. But it's convenient to be close to home, too.
