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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports

IU western equestrian team rising in popularity

Ruizi Li, a post-doctorate at IU, stands with her horse as her teammates prepare their horses to ride. The IU Western Equestrian Team meets regularly to practice at Big Star Stables.

The IU Western Equestrian Team has been in place for more than ten years, but Stephanie Riddell said it has never received this much recognition before.

Riddell, the team’s head coach, has led the team for three years since giving up her pro-card. She said she expects its member total to rise.

“My first year here, I think we only had about ten riders, and now we’re up to 30, which is the largest the team has ever been,” Riddell said.

Team president Taryn Nance credits the growth to the group’s recruitment efforts at IU RecFest and the involvement fair.

She said members are spreading information about the team to friends and urging them to give it a try, even if they’re only moderately interested, pushing the flexibility of the practice schedule as one way to draw in students who may think they’re too busy.

Nance, a junior from Evansville, Indiana, never expected to ride for the equestrian team until she made her way to RecFest, which the team brings a horse to every year. Now she’s spending her first year as its president.

Nance said most students, including herself, don’t even know IU has an equestrian team before they go to these fairs.

Junior captain McKenna Taylor, on the other hand, always knew she wanted to ride collegiately.

“I’ve always been interested in horses,” Taylor said. “I’ve always loved them because I grew up with them my entire life.”

Taylor made her way to IU by way of a transfer from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She wanted to attend a bigger school and made sure IU had an equestrian team before she chose it.

Taylor has been riding for almost 10 years, beginning as a sixth grader, although not all riders have to be that experienced to join.

“Anybody can join, and there’s a walk-trot track for the beginner riders,” Taylor said.

Still, many of the beginner members will have to learn quickly if they want to compete in some of the six upcoming competitions.

The IU team competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, and its region consists of nine teams, including Butler, Ball State and Purdue. Last season, IU finished in 4th place in regionals.

Taylor said the competitions have various levels, from novice, which is for beginners, all the way to open classes, the highest level. Riddell said only riders with the same amount of experience compete against each other.

While the team takes competition seriously, its coaching staff knows their full-time students need to focus on school. So Riddell gives riders downtime during practice.

“Riders can watch others practice, do homework, watch TV and catch up on some schoolwork in the viewing room,” Riddell said.

Riddell also makes sure her riders are active in the community, and members of the team routinely volunteer their time outside the stables at People and Animal Learning Services, a therapeutic riding center.

PALS is a therapeutic horseback riding program located in Bloomington for children and adults with disabilities and veterans in order to improve their motor skills. Outside of PALS, the team volunteers at local 5Ks.

The teams’ next competition comes Oct. 29 in Gurnee, Illinois.

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