Paul David Cronin (May 26, 1936 – December 29, 2024) was an American

horseman Horseman or The Horsemen may refer to: Avocations * Horseman, an equestrian: ** A person who practices equestrianism Occupations * Wrangler (profession), someone who wrangles horses and other livestock, and called by that name especially in Nort ...

riding instructor {{short description, Person whose job it is to teach methods of horse riding A riding instructor is a person whose job it is to teach methods of horse riding (and also horse care) to beginners and improve the intermediate and advanced rider's style ...

, and author. He studied under

Vladimir Littauer Vladimir Stanislavovitch Littauer (January 10, 1892 – August 31, 1989) was an influential Russian and American Equestrianism, horseback riding master and the author of books and films on educated riding and the training of horses. As a riding in ...

for 30 years, and taught Littauer's forward seat riding system. His book ''Schooling and Riding the Sport Horse'' (2004) was intended to be a modern and updated version of Littauer's ''Commonsense Horsemanship''. In it, Cronin detailed the history of the American forward seat riding system, gave advice on training young and green horses, and outlined a three-part system based on controls, position and schooling. Cronin was director of the riding program at

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in ...

from 1967–2002, and became

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

and Director of Riding Emeritus in 2003. Among his students there was Olympic athlete Lendon Gray, rider of Seldom Seen. Cronin was involved with the

American National Riding Commission American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, and was an "R" judge for hunt seat competitions from 1965 to 1987. In the state of Virginia, he was a member of the

equitation Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship. More specifically, equitation may refer to a rider's position while mounted, and encompasses a rider's ability to ride correctly and with effective aids. In horse show competitio ...

committee of the Virginia Horse Show Association from 1974 to 1980, was a director for the Virginia Horse Council in 1981–1982, and was on the riding committee of the

Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other ful ...

from 1985 until 2001. Beginning in 1999 Cronin was an advisory member at large for the Affiliated/American National Riding Council. Cronin died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 88.

Publications

* ''Riding Standards. The Policies and Operating Procedures of the National Riding Committee 1973-1974''. Washington, DC: American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, 1973 (editor) * ''Schooling and Riding the Sport Horse: A Modern American Hunter Jumper System''. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004 (foreword by Joe Fargis)

Awards

*1987 - Coach of the Year, Old Dominion Athletic Conference *1997 - Educator of the Year Award, Virginia Horse Council''Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine'', Winter 2009/2010.
p. 18. *1997 - Hall of Fame Inductee, Southwest Virginia Hunter Jumper Association *2006 - One of 12 Affiliate Regional Awards of the

United States Hunter/Jumper Association The United States Hunter/Jumper Association, or USHJA, is the governing body for hunt seat and show jumping in the United States. The mission statement of the USHJA is "to unify and represent the hunter and jumper disciplines of equestrian sport ...

Affiliate Sportsmanship Award Archive: 2006 to 2014
United States Hunter/Jumper Association. Retrieved April 2015. *2009 - Pegasus Award,

United States Equestrian Federation The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF or US Equestrian) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for most Equestrianism, equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917, as the Association of American Hor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Paul D. 1936 births 2024 deaths American male equestrians People from Dover, Massachusetts