Elon's equestrian team proves successful despite underfunding
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“For people like us, riding is such a big part of our lives that we are going to go to school where we can do that,” Rucker said.
Club sports are often overshadowed by varsity Division I sports. While this has been the case with the Elon equestrian club, it has not deterred the riders from doing what they love.
The equestrian club is broken into two different competitive categories — dressage, which trains horses in obedience and precision of movement, and hunter jumper, where the horses are trained to jump 3-foot fences flawlessly.
Founded in 2001 with only a few riders, the club has grown tremendously since its inception.
For both team divisions , competitions bring uncertainty. Judges make assessments on equitation – how the rider looks on the horse and how skilled he or she is as a rider. When riders arrive at a show, the horse they are to compete on is determined by drawing a name out of a hat. Riders do not bring their own horses, and they are not allowed to practice with the horse they are assigned.
"We have to ride all different types of horses and practice on every different type of horse because you never know what you're going to get to ride," said Sian Rucker, junior co-captain of the hunter jumper division. "The belief is that any good rider can ride any type of horse and do well on it."
The club competes in four shows a semester, with mandatory attendance in order to move on in hopes of making it to Nationals.
Elon's team competes against schools in the Southern Conference, as well as larger schools such as Virginia Tech, who receives more funding, because it is officially a Division I varsity program.
Despite being one of the smaller programs competing, the Elon team had a third place finish in the region behind Virginia Intermont College and Virginia Tech this year.
The equestrian team is considered a club sport, which can be difficult when competing against the Division I schools.
"A lot of money is coming out of everyone's pockets to be able (to compete)...I don't think (Elon) realizes how much money other schools get and how much more of an advantage they have because of that," Rucker said.
Even though it is only a club sport, the equestrian club at Elon provides any opportunity for those who want to ride.
"For people like us, riding is such a big part of our lives that we are going to go to school where we can do that," Rucker said. "For Elon to provide the equestrian team is important because many more student will want to come here for it."
Updated May 10, 2011