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WVU Equestrian Team headed to nationals
For only the second time in team history, members of the West Virginia University Equestrian Team are participating in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship Show.
Thirteen WVU students from a variety of disciplines will be traveling to Burbank, Calif., for the May 8-11 competition.
Students on the Hunter Seat Reserved Champion Team (English discipline) include Andrea Palmer, a criminology and investigations major from Gaithersburg, Md.; Jennifer Kanetsky, an animal and nutritional sciences major from Holland, Pa.; Erin Murray, a broadcast news major from Warrenton, Va.; Chad Koury, a music major from Masontown; Christine O’Donnell, a nursing major from Ellicott City, Md.; and Brittany Poff, a communication studies major from Phillipsburg, N.J.
English-style riding includes jumping and dressage and requires horse and rider combinations that involve navigating a series of jumps within a given time limit. The style consists of three classes – hunter, jumper and equitation.
Team members will compete in the equitation classes where judges are looking for the best rider. Typical characteristics include sitting up straight and keeping the heels down and toes slightly pointed outward.
Students on the nationals Western Team include Tiffany Mahalchick, a general studies student from Rahway, N.J.; Kellan Miller, a speech pathology and audiology major from Meyersdale, Pa.; Ashley Clutter, an animal and nutritional sciences major from Webster Springs; Lisa Chaplin, an agribusiness management and rural development major from Dellslow; and Renae Burks, a business and economics major from Marlinton.
Western-style riding is very different from English. It’s slower paced; riders sit farther back in the saddle and can only use one hand to control the horse. Each rider is judged on how well the horse responds to his or her commands.
Lauren Farrell, a political science major from McLean, Va., will be competing individually in the Advanced Western Horsemanship class.
Since riders are randomly assigned horses, none of the 18 teams at the national show has an advantage. Riders may be given vague descriptions of their assigned horses’ characteristics, but no one is allotted warmup time prior to entering the ring.
Clutter, president of the Western Team, says that is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to showing.
“It’s all about horsemanship – your ability to handle the horse you’re given,” she said. “Without time to warmup, you don’t know how the horse will react in certain situations.”
All challenges aside, Clutter believes this is an amazing opportunity for the team.
“We’ll be competing against the best teams in the country, and we’ll also have the opportunity to ride some really nice horses that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise,” she said.
The team is coached by Bobby Dean and Michele Koury. For more information on the show, visit http://www.ihsainc.com. Results and photos will also be available on the site.
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