Labeled “Trailblazer” and “Barrier-Breaker,” Cornell women’s polo senior Shariah Harris embodies those labels, but doesn’t let them define her. Known for having a unique skill set on the horse unlike what’s typically seen in women’s polo, Harris has caught the eye of polo’s elite, not just as one of the best women’s intercollegiate polo players, but as one of the top players in the United States.
During her senior year of high school in 2016, Harris was named the U.S. Polo Association’s National Interscholastic Player of the Year. Recognition continued to roll in for Harris, who just a year later was playing high-goal polo for Postage Stamp Farm at the 2017 Silver Cup tournament, the top tier of polo in the country.
Harris’ talent sets her apart from the competition, but her journey to the top is what makes her stand out. Rather than growing up at the country club, Harris, an African-American woman, grew up in inner-city Philadelphia as one of three children in a single income household. Her introduction to polo happened by accident after a wrong turn in Fairmount Park landed Harris, her mother Sharmell and her younger brother on the doorstep of Philadelphia’s Work to Ride program.
In a sport dominated by wealthy men, she’s not supposed to be here, right? Wrong.
Landing on the doorstep of Work to Ride was a blessing in disguise for Harris and her family, who upon noticing other black children riding horses, knew they wanted to get involved.
“We were driving around lost and I remember my brother noticing the horses first,” said Harris. “After looking around for a bit we decided to go inside, where we eventually met with Lezlie Hiner to pick up an application.”
Founded in 1992 by Lezlie Hiner, Work to Ride is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that promotes discipline, self-esteem, social development, life skills, academic achievement and physical fitness to low-income at-risk youths though horsemanship, equine sports and educational activities. Located in Fairmount Park, Work to Ride is designed as a long-term program for children between the ages of seven and 19, who must commit to a minimum of one year of participation. Children involved with the Work to Ride program participate in equestrian activities, get paid to maintain the horse stables and receive after-school tutoring to help maintain grades and assist with college enrollment.
Before joining Work to Ride’s polo team, Harris, who became involved in the program at eight years old, first had to learn how to ride, clean the stalls and groom the horses. Work to Ride quickly became a full-time commitment for Harris and her siblings, who over the summers would spend entire days at the stables. In her fourth year with the Work to Ride program at the age of 12, Harris mustered up the courage to join the polo team. By then, the number of girls enrolled in the program had dwindled, forcing her to play against the boys.
“When I joined the program there were a good number of girls with me, but as I got older they either quit, aged out, or got kicked out,” said Harris. “After a while, I was the only girl there for a long time and all the boys would be playing polo. I watched them play for a while before deciding that I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines while they were having fun.”
Playing against the guys hardened Harris, who’s known as one of the more physical players in intercollegiate women’s polo.
“Playing with the guys took me a step beyond where I was at,” said Harris. “I originally started playing on the women’s team and I’d say I was decent, but when I got a chance to play with the guys they didn’t take it easy on me. That’s what first started to fuel the competitive drive you see today. I always want to be the most physical player and give it my all every game.”
When Harris was younger, she didn’t realize all that Work to Ride would eventually do for her. Whether it was a tournament across the country or a trip to Nigeria or Argentina, Work to Ride allowed for Harris to experience different cultures and learn polo from some of the best in the world. That experience has put Harris in a position to give back to the program in any way she can.
“I go back and visit every time I have a break from school,” said Harris. “I’m still connected with all the kids in the program and Lezlie especially. I can’t talk about my life story without Work to Ride because my life evolved from the program. I owe the program a lot due to how it changed me as a person and gave me direction in my life.”
Sought after by several top polo programs throughout the country, Harris eagerly awaited her acceptance at Cornell after stepping foot on campus for the first time. One trip to Ithaca was all the Philadelphia native needed to know she felt at home with the Big Red. Anticipating that her letter of acceptance would arrive via email at any moment, Harris anxiously awaited Cornell’s decision alongside her older sister.
“My sister wanted to be home with me to open it, but by the time five o’clock rolled around I tried to sneak away and open it by myself in case I got denied,” said Harris. “My sister caught me though, and we opened it together. I still remember scrolling down slowly and see the ‘C’ and screaming because we both knew it said ‘Congratulations.’ We called my mom and we all cried of course.”
Also ecstatic for Harris was Lezlie Hiner, the director of the Work to Ride program. Hiner plays a key role in the academics of Work’s to Ride’s members by offering tutoring to those who need it. Members of the program are also required to maintain a certain grade point average in order to ride.
“I wanted to keep it a secret from Lezlie because I was going to the barn later that day and wanted to let her know in person,” said Harris. “I handed her the acceptance letter and she screamed and cried with me too. It was something that everyone in my life was invested in and it meant a lot because I didn’t think going to an Ivy League school was something accessible for me.”
In addition to succeeding in the classroom while under the guidance of Hiner, Harris also achieved greatness on her horse, as evidenced by the USPA National Interscholastic Player of the Year honor she took home in 2016. Harris’ skill on the horse developed further throughout her four years at Cornell, as she became both a joy to coach and a nightmare to coach against.
“Coaching against Shariah was a challenge you don’t deal with often in women’s polo,” said Branden Van Loon, the Peter B. Orthwein ’68 Head Coach of Polo at Cornell, who coached against Harris while serving as Yale’s head coach from 2016-2018. “She has such a unique skill set with strengths that aren’t typical of women’s players. Trying to shut that down was always an interesting challenge and a learning experience as a coach.”
Van Loon, who graduated from Cornell in 2013, has enjoyed the advantage of having Harris on his team this time around, having taken over the Big Red men’s and women’s polo programs mid-way through the 2018-19 season.
“It has been an epic journey getting to coach Shariah because there are so many possibilities for her,” said Van Loon. “Shariah is easily one of the top-10 intercollegiate players and she’s right there as one of the top-10 women’s players in the country overall, both in the arena and on grass.”
While Harris is already one of the most skilled players in the country, it’s her mind for the game and her leadership that sets her apart from the rest.
“Shariah’s leadership has been stellar for our team,” said Van Loon. “She has been amazing with bringing up the less experienced players in the program and helping them learn the game.”
Harris’ journey donning the red and white isn’t over yet however. The team hopes that a strong spring semester will put them in a position to bring a national championship back to Ithaca for the first time since 2016.
As she prepares to graduate from Cornell in the spring, Harris finds herself in a mentorship role with the current generation of kids coming through the Work to Ride program.
“It’s kind of weird being in a mentor position now,” said Harris. “I still see myself as someone who needs a mentor and needs to learn more. If I can do that for others though, I would love to.”
Coming up through the program herself, Harris didn’t have the luxury of a “Shariah Harris” to look up to and show her how things are done.
“It would have been great to have someone who looks like me to look up to when I was younger,” said Harris. “Someone once told me that if I kept waiting for someone who looked like me to fill that role, then I’d still be waiting. I want to give someone the confidence to do it when they don’t think they can.”
Despite not viewing herself as someone deserving of the role model title just yet, Harris hopes that her story will inspire others like her to pursue their dreams.
“I’ve been given the label of trailblazer,” said Harris. “If that means I can open doors and break barriers for other black women who don’t think they can do it, that’s good enough for me. It’s kind of weird to have that label, because for me I’m just playing the sport for the love of the game. I never expected all of the recognition to come along with it.”
Story: Austin Overmann, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
Photo/Video: Eldon Lindsay, Digital Content & Strategic Communications Specialist
Credits:
Photos/Video : Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics