Galloping, jumping and neighing across campus

From staff report

The pounding of hooves on dirt and the heavy breathing of animals either means a stampede is coming or the equestrian team is bringing the heat.

WSU’s Equestrian Club was started by junior animal science pre-vet major and club president Shelby Westmoreland in her freshman year. The team competes against other equestrian teams in the region.

“The camaraderie you get is incomparable,” Westmoreland said. “It’s a really fun experience.”

At each competition, riders are asked to draw the name of a random horse from a hat and are required to use that horse to compete. This levels the playing field and eliminates any unfairness from riders weathered on a single horse.

Westmoreland said there are two styles of riding: Western and English. The Western style is predominantly American, developed to show a performance based on the horse and rider. The incentive is what would be necessary for a traditional cowboy.

English style riding is the style used to compete internationally and also used in the Olympics. This style involves show jumping and hunter-jumper, in which the rider and horse jump over hurdles.

“The club is split into two teams for each discipline,” Westmoreland said.

The competitions are sometimes Western shows, sometimes English, and some are combined with both. The Equestrian Club will participate in an English show this November.

The club leases a variety of horses for the team members to ride in preparation for competitions. These different breeds are usually designated for Western style, English style, or sometimes both. Breeds include lipizzaner, appaloosas, and quarter horses.

“What’s really cool is the girls get to know the horses on the team,” Westmoreland said. “(We) work together to achieve a common goal.”

Westmoreland’s experience with horses began with horse riding as a P.E. subject at school in Australia. She then rode for the equestrian team at Washington High School when she came to the U.S.

“For a lot of people, having horses in your life is very therapeutic,” she said. “It’s an amazing experience.”

The Equestrian Club does different fundraisers to support the team horses, and currently the club is selling sweatshirts. A portion of the proceeds from each sweatshirt purchase goes to the team.

Westmoreland said the difficult part is managing everything in her life seeing how she invests a lot of her time with the club. But she said it was totally worth it.

Tryouts for the competitive team already ended, but students can join the noncompetitive team next semester. For more information, see their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wsuequestrian

Reporting by Catherine Kruse