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English, Western equestrian teams jump to success |
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Tuesday, 20 February 2007 |
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by KATIE ANN HENDERSON
Intern Sports Reporter
The Appalachian State University club equestrian team is jumping over hurdles and completing its rails in order to make huge advancements this season.
Practicing independently at least once a week with a trainer at Yonahlossee Equestrian Center, the team of almost 20 “showing” members recently qualified for the regional championships.
“We
have two different styles of riding that we do, and we are getting
ready to add on a third,” Jesseca Bryant, junior club president, said.
“A style called English is the type of saddle hunter-jumper, or the
type the jumping horses use. Then there is Western, where you use a
western saddle, and there is a certain way to ride.”
 Active Image | Garrett Price | The Appalachian
Lauren E. Dotson, a junior elementary education major, of the Equestrian Team jumps a horse Friday.
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To qualify for regionals, a team must have 35 cumulative points.
Currently, ASU’s English and Western teams hold 62 and 51 points,
respectively.
“Ninety percent of our Western girls have a shot at going to
regionals,” Danielle Hagerman, senior team vice president, said.
“They’ve all been placing so good in past shows. They have mostly just
been getting first and second, and that is really boosting their points
up.”
In equestrian competitions, a team’s coach assigns a point rider for
each category, such as beginner or intermediate patterns. At the end of
the show, the total points from all of the point riders make up the
team’s total.
Having so few members, the team seems to be at a disadvantage. However, they have proved themselves otherwise.
“Out of eight categories, we have riders in four divisions, and we
compete against teams that have riders in every single category,”
Hagerman said. “Even so, we still like [beating] East Carolina
[University] and Western Carolina [University]. It’s just a good
feeling.”
Due to the small scale of ASU’s equestrian capabilities, the team has to travel for all of its competitions.
“We can’t host our own shows here,” Bryant said. “We just don’t have
enough horses or the facility to do it. We go to places like Saint
Andrews Presbyterian College, and we also compete against teams like
[the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill], Duke University, and
North Carolina State [University].”
However, some schools have a large emphasis on equestrian sports and host most of the competitions in Appalachian’s region.
“Most of the big name schools, like Virginia Intermont College, have
like 50 plus horses, where everyone comes and rides,” Hagerman said.
“Then the smaller schools like Appalachian, Elon University, and
Western Carolina University do not. There are only like three schools
that have the ability to do that.”
As ASU wraps up its first year with a competing Western team and
prepares to take both the English and Western teams to the regional
competitions, they are already looking for more team interest and
support.
“We have girls that have never ridden before. They start off, and they
do really good,” Bryant said. “We take everyone from people that have
never even seen a horse to people who have been riding their whole
lives. I think that is the best part about it.”
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