Setting a proper tone is critical in football and no team in the Hudson does it better than Sleepy Hollow.
It’s called a walk-out.
For the last 15 years, the Headless Horsemen have been led onto the field by the very legend Washington Irving dreamed up in 1820. It’s a staple of meaningful home games on a field that overlooks the Hudson River, but it’s become part of the program’s tradition.
And it’s a spectacle when the headless rider trots down a hill and onto the field ahead of the red and silver line of players.
“It’s very unique,” Sleepy Hollow junior running back Brayden Richardson said. “It’s a surreal experience. Ever since I started to play youth football I looked forward to being a part of that tradition. You definitely want that intimidation factor. It was scary when I was little, but I looked up to the varsity players, so it almost didn’t feel real being part of it at homecoming.”
This village is no longer sleepy in October.
Halloween is now a major draw in Sleepy Hollow and there are multiple Headless Horsemen for hire. And the rider contracted by the school this season is actually a headless horsewoman, Leora Dillon, who makes the ride from Corinthian Equestrian Center in Warwick, Orange County with Eagle, a dark-as-night rescue, on game days.
“It’s a tradition that goes along with the story,” Sleepy Hollow coach Anthony Giuliano said. “It’s captivating even when you know it’s coming. After we warmed up at homecoming and went up the hill to the upper field, you saw the horse and rider and there was such a wow factor. It’s something that gets the whole school excited. It’s such an awesome mascot to have.”
The origin story is a little fuzzy, but the horse and rider are believed to have been introduced around 2009 or 2010 under then coach Steve Borys.
“I can’t remember the team we played it, but was mid- to late October and the horse walked us down from the top field,” said Jorge Veintimilla, a physical education teacher at the school who’s coached football there for two decades. “We had a Halloween song on and the crowd erupted. It was fantastic. And we definitely won, that’s why it stuck around.”
Sleepy Hollow finished the season with a 3-3 record. The Headless Horsemen did not qualify for the playoffs and were hoping to make one more run onto the field, but could not find an opponent.
