Saddle up your horses

Equestrian teams display skills at Campbell University competition Feb. 5-6

It is customary for an equestrian team to bring a certain amount of horses to a competition, but the Liberty Flames Western equestrian team went above and beyond and brought nine horses to a competition at Campbell University Feb. 5-6.

SHOW — Liberty Equestrian teams bring home a win from the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Photo credit: Courtney Russo

SHOW — Liberty Equestrian teams bring home a win from the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Photo credit: Courtney Russo

The Liberty Equestrian team competes as part of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). Equestrian team Head Coach Caroline Trexler said IHSA “has competitions in both hunt seat and Western riding, … (so) you can really tailor your program to the needs of your school … and (still) have the opportunity to be successful.”

According to the Liberty University club sports website, the Western equestrian team was started fall 2014. Though it is young, the equestrian program uses quality horses for training and competitions.

“We have 30 team horses and … probably 15 are either Western or can double dip (in English and Western),” Trexler said.

According to Trexler, bringing nine of the Western horses to the competition was the young team’s “first big outward excursion” with Liberty-owned horses. According to Trexler, the competition held new challenges for all involved.

“It was a lot of different dynamics all combined because it was a matter of transporting all of the (horses), housing all of them, caring for them and managing them all,” Trexler said.

Managing the horses’ health is a top priority at the equestrian center, according to Liberty Equestrian Center Horse Care Manager Megan Velardo. Velardo made sure that the horses received vaccine boosters and a health certification from a veterinarian before attending the show.

In addition to maintaining horse health, the riders and equines faced other obstacles in preparing for the show.

“February is weird for a competing athletic team to come back to school and then have (practices) that are almost exclusively controlled by the weather,” Trexler said. “We’re fairly limited in making sure all of our horses are sound (and) making sure that the weather is cooperative. … So, managing all of that but still getting the (students) the quantity … and the quality time to practice was a challenge.”

However, saddle time was only one aspect of rider preparation.

“A lot of it is a head game,” Trexler said. “There’s a skill set component and there’s definitely a practice component. But, if you can be continually reiterating the things in your head that you need to practice as a rider and working on that component, … you condition your brain to help you do the right things.”

Sophomore intermediate rider Bri Henry added that the team did “a lot of praying … because we know the only way we can be successful is
through God.”

Coaches also worked hard to prepare each horse to perform in the competition.

“(Velardo) and the coaches collaborated to personalize goals for each horse and develop(ed) a workout that would bring the best results,” Western equestrian team Coach Shelby Rader said.

Despite all the difficulties, the competition was a success.

“Everyone loved our horses (and) they represented tremendously well,” Trexler said. “(It) was exciting to know that not only did we bring quality riders, but that the horses we are building our program out of also represent quality.”

In addition to the horses’ achievements, the Western equestrian team members placed “exceptionally well,” according to Trexler. However, the highlight of the competition was a team effort.

“The really exciting thing is we were tied with five other teams for third on Saturday,” Trexler said. “But leaving Sunday, we were in third place for the region out of 11 schools.”

The team’s excellence gave them further opportunities to serve their IHSA region.

“Four of our horses got invitations to Florida as mounts for National semi-finals, as they were great performers,” Rader said.

Overall, the weekend showed how well the Western team is achieving its goals for its first season.

“Our (top) goal as a team is to become even more unified in Christ and keep him at the center of all we do,” Rader said. “I would have to say that one of the highlights of the show was watching one of our captains, Micah Armbrust, pray with the (hotel) clerk. That … was the ultimate victory for our show, that’s what being a light for Christ is all about.”

STEPTOE is a news reporter.

One comment

  • This is a wonderful opportunity among students to showcase their skills in horse riding and maintenance. Is this a yearly activity?

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