Equestrian Riding into Spotlight Club Sport Enters Middlebury's Radar Screen

Author: Tom McCann

Middlebury College has an equestrian team. Few people know about it, even fewer are actually on it, but those that are, do not ask for much publicity, but instead go about doing something that they love dearly, riding horses. Despite remaining a club sport, the riders regularly competing against schools that field varsity and junior varsity teams. While Mercy Trent '06 would rather be riding a horse than doing anything else, she commented, "We don't get a P.E. credit for being on the riding team. It's ridiculous, especially as one of the P.E classes is riding lessons." In all likelihood, it will not be too long before this oversight is corrected, but for now, it doesn't seem to be dulling the enthusiasm of the riders whatsoever.

During both the fall and the spring, Middlebury attends three or four shows, along with schools like Dartmouth, Colby-Sawyer, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Vermont and Mount Ida. Although each show is a team competition, there is a lot of emphasis on the individual as each rider has the opportunity to compete in large-scale shows even if the school does not send a team.

In each show, there are two classes - jumping and flat riding. In the morning, each rider will randomly draw a horse with which to perform the first part of the competition. One of the more advanced riders, Caroline Stauffer '06 noted, "Intercollegiate horse shows are unique because competitors ride a horse that they have never seen before, and don't even have a chance to warm up as they would in a regular competition. This means that there's a good deal of luck involved, and you have to hope you draw a good horse."

The competition is broken down into three divisions - open (for the experts), intermediate and novice, as determined by riding ability and previous show experience. Then, within each division there are usually sections to further divide the riders. Typically, between eight and 12 riders may be in each section with the judges responsible for ranking the top six. In the flat riding division, all the equestrians in each section parade around together, following a standard routine. They then have the chance to compete in the jumping section, consisting of jumping eight fences individually, one after the other. A rider may not compete in the jumping division unless they have done the flat walk.

In the flat riding, the judges are looking for the appearance and demeanor of the rider on the horse as well as their perceived control of the horse and the effectiveness of the instructions given out. A rider should be sitting straight, with their heels down, in control of the horse, poised, calm and composed. They should give good, clear aids to the horse and maintain control at all times. In the jumping division, the riders are judged on their ability to complete the course, the ability to control the horse, and of course, the look of the rider. Should the horse act up though and provide problems for the rider, the stewards at the show may decide to offer a re-ride to an equestrian if they deem the problems to be unrelated to the performance of the rider. However, if the rider is viewed as being at fault, there will be no re-ride and the score of the equestrian will suffer accordingly. This is, of course, a very subjective decision, but it is one that adds to the charm of such an event.

As a school, Middlebury does extremely well with almost every rider usually placing in the top six of each section in which they compete. With each rider able to compete in both the flat walking and the riding, this is no mean feat. Trent, one of the most naturally gifted members of the team commented, "We're a small team and so we can't fill all the classes. That means we don't get enough points to ever come close to winning, especially as some of the other schools have their equestrian teams in Varsity standing."

Despite this, Middlebury always places well, with several excellent personal performances at each show. With more shows coming up in the spring, Middlebury may have the opportunity to host one, thus increasing the visibility of the team across campus. For now though, the team is composed of the few who simply love to be walking, trotting, cantering and galloping upon their gallant horses.