By Zach Babajanof-Rustrian | Sports Writer
Baylor equestrian fifth-year senior jumping seat Dominika Silvestri waited her turn to get into the spotlight. Once she got her opportunity, she took it — and she hasn’t looked back since.
During the fall portion of the 2023-24 season, Silvestri tied a program record of seven career most outstanding player awards in fences and is undefeated in conference play in fences.
“[The seven most outstanding player awards] is definitely really cool, but I don’t really want to focus on just the award,” Silvestri said. “I just keep pushing. And I’m excited to expand on what we had going on in the fall and just keep everyone motivated and finish strong and heading into Big 12 [conference meets].”
During the 2023 season, Silvestri was named to the 2023 NCEA All-American First Team — something she said shows how far she’s come since her freshman year.
“I’ve seen all parts of the team,” Silvestri said. “I’ve warm-up rode. I’ve been on the bench. … Now, to start has been a really great opportunity to see all of my hard work really come together. And it really wasn’t just me. It was the coaches and everyone who pushed me to be on that team.”
With all that Silvestri has completed in her career at Baylor, head coach Casie Maxwell said other Bears can resonate with her story.
“Her story’s pretty amazing — to see her kind of dabble in the roster her freshman and sophomore year [and] overcome some things,” Maxwell said. “We look forward to seeing her really get better every single year. And to have such a standout year, like last year, I mean that’s the goal.”
Silvestri said she started horseback riding when she was young because of her mom, who grew up riding horses.
“I started when I was about 4 years old, and we also owned a racehorse,” Silvestri said. “My dad — although he didn’t understand what I was doing — understood the horses, so we had a racehorse until I was about 9. And I got a pony for Christmas when I was about 7. And it’s always just been a family affair, which has been really great and very supportive.”
In terms of her entire career thus far, Silvestri said she is most proud of going to college and being a flat rider in the Big 12 conference.
“I think I struggled with flat a little bit my freshman year,” Silvestri said. “So to see that growth — and then I had a pretty good run going last year — so just seeing it all tied together and being surrounded by what I see as family, it was really cool to get that award.”
Maxwell added that she looks forward to the leadership that Silvestri will continue to provide in the spring.
“I think the big thing with any of them at their seniors or fifth-years, it’s just the leadership — to know that we’re in the business of college athletics, but our sport is in the business of riding horses, and our equipment is live, and everything’s not going to be perfect,” Maxwell said. “We really look to those upperclassmen who have ridden the up and downhill battles through their career here to know that it may not be perfect, but we have to stay confident.”
Silvestri said being at Baylor has changed her life.
“I think before school, [equestrian] is a very individual sport, and it takes up a lot of our time,” Silvestri said. “So a lot of us didn’t really get to play a real team sport before college.
“I’m excited and nervous to see what my life looks like without being on the team since I’ve been here for five years. But just being surrounded by 60 girls all the time that want the best for you and you want the best for them has been really eye-opening.”
With the season set to start with a matchup against Georgia (4-3) on Saturday, Maxwell said the focus rests on the Bulldogs.
“We’ve already had a week of practice under our belt,” Maxwell said. “[The team has] come back really clear-minded and very far focused on that [and] really ready to put the past in the past.”
