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Club sport gallops into spring season |
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Tuesday, 29 January 2008 |
 Vice-president of the equestrian club Corrina Yerke shows affection to “Handy” outside Yonahlossee Resort Saddle Club Monday. Photo by Derek DeSha
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by LILES NEAL
Intern Sports Reporter
The Appalachian State University Club Equestrian team represented Appalachian with its first rider to appear in a national competition last year.
This year, they hope their newfound organization and new coach will help lead them to even greater success.
Susan
Bankston, the team’s Western Horsemanship coach, is now in her second
year with the Appalachian equestrian team. She started riding when she
was just four years old and has ridden and showed virtually every breed
of horse.
Bankston has known several of the ASU equestrians since they were young
and she finally became officially involved with the team last year.
Bankston’s teaching background has been helpful in coaching a group of riders she described as “extremely dedicated.”
“Having taught high school English for 30 years, I know how to get things across to [the team],” she said.
Bankston explained the team has to deal with hardships that most other sports teams do not.
“When you play football or basketball or soccer, it’s your skill
matched against your opponent’s. There’s a ball involved, but it
doesn’t have a mind of its own,” she said. “Our riders have to deal
with an animal with a mind of its own.”
 Seniors Nicole L. Kemerling (l) and Tina M. Berwanger simultaneously hurdle at Yonahlossee Resort Saddle Club Monday afternoon. Photo by Derek DeSha
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Bankston also noted that since Appalachian doesn’t have its own barns, the team endures many out of pocket expenses.
“[The team] essentially has to pay every time they practice,” Bankston said.
Junior English major and vice president of the equestrian club Corrina
Yerke said the team has done a lot of volunteer work to help the team
bond, and earned budget points to raise as much money as possible.
“We do a lot at the Humane Society,” Yerke said. “We’re trying to go at
least once a week if we can, but we’ve got a pretty hectic schedule
with our shows.”
Bankston also said the lack of a formal equestrian program puts the
Appalachian team at a disadvantage when competing with schools with
their own barns, horses, and arenas.
With no formal equestrian program, the Appalachian equestrian team is
not guaranteed horses that are bred and trained specifically for
competition.
“[The team has] had to train horses while perfecting their own riding
skills,” Bankston said. “I always tell them it makes them better
riders.”
Bankston also said teams from schools that own horses become more familiar with them and have an advantage when hosting shows.
“It’s a big deal for them to continue to be competitive riding horses they don’t know,” she said.
Bankston said all of these issues can seem to pile on top of each other, but the team has shown remarkable dedication.
“They really have to go the extra mile to be involved in this sport,” she said.
Despite the hardships, the team still aims for the top honors in their
sport - a shot at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s
Nationals, where they compete with some of the top programs in the
nation.
“Our goal last year was to just try to get a little more organized, try
to get people out at shows, and have a good representation,” Yerke
said. “We also started our Western team last year and we had a girl go
to nationals.”
The team has carried the positive momentum into this year. They have
already qualified three riders for regional competition, which is the
first step in qualifying for nationals.
“One of our goals for this semester is sending someone, again, to nationals,” Yerke said.
The team will begin its spring season in early February before the regional competition over Spring Break.
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