Georgia's newest varsity sport is women's equestrian, which won its spurs as the oldest club sport on campus

B Y - R A C H E L - L I A N N A - S M I T H

t's a cool autumn morning and misty clouds linger above a group of horses grazing on South Milledge. Inside a barn, student riders in tight khaki leggings take laps around a red dirt arena, circling assistant coach Martha McElhannon as she critiques every stirrup's movement and each horse's step. The female riders work on posture and on getting a feel for their horses.

When they're not riding, these young women function like ranch hands—filling pails, lugging hoses, shoveling manure, and cleaning stalls. They're also college students, who often go to class smelling like "horse." And, more times than not, their hair's a mess thanks to their black English riding helmets.

Why do they put themselves through all this? For the love of a little-known sport that has just been elevated to varsity sports status this fall.

Horses make you feel good!

There's a strong support base for equestrian throughout the state, says assistant athletic director Hoke Wilder (AB '70, MPA '71). "When you drive through an area and see horses in a pasture, it generally makes you feel good," he says. "It's a pastime and hobby that people like to be associated with. And it's become more than just an equestrian team thing. It's a change for the whole UGA equine program."

About 70 percent of agricultural students say they'd like to work with horses, so the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is considering adding an equine major. The team has also created a unique partnership between animal science and the College of Veterinary Medicine. A new equestrian facility may be built on animal science land, and horses used by the team are also used for teaching and research by the vet school, which owns several horses.

"We can be reasonably successful without vet med and animal and dairy sciences," says Wilder, "but very successful with them."

Equestrian is also attracting hard-working students who might not otherwise be in college.

"I have tons of friends who show [horses] and aren't in college," says Collins Daye, a junior from Albany who competes at the open, or highest, level in English riding. "This is an incentive to get more people in the horse industry to go to school." College conflicts with the show industry, she says, but adding the sport "allows an outlet and a way to get an education."

The 74-member team retained 42 members from the club team, and the remaining 32 girls are recruits from as far away as Ohio, Kansas, Florida and Texas.

Says former club team member Kelly Hughes: "We want people to say that this is the flagship school for the horse industry and for equine programs."

			Above: Erin Hernandez, a junior from Marietta, takes a rest on Stogie before the Columbia, S.C., competition. Left: A pole barn was built for the team to temporarily house tack and horses until the permanent structure is ready. Half of the team's 40 horses rotate from the barn to the fields every day and night.

A stable program

Besides varsity benefits such as set workout times, a locker room, and uniforms, the team is in the hands of a stellar staff, including head coach Meghan Boenig ("me-GON BER-nig"), who worked with the club team last year.

Boenig grew up in Virginia's fox-hunting country, and has been astride a horse since she was 6. She came to UGA after receiving her master's degree in equine exercise physiology at Texas A&M. She also has a bachelor's degree in biology from Berry College, where she was president of the equestrian club team.

"My favorite thing about coaching," says Boenig, "is when you're working hard with a rider and a horse trying to get something accomplished—and a light bulb goes on. When you get those few moments of it working, you know you're doing the right thing."

"The coaches are really great," says Daye. "They don't try to change your style. They know when to let you do your thing."

Boenig, who focuses on hunt seat riding, is assisted by coaches Martha McElhannon, a Columbus native and Beth Bass, who also was recruited from Texas A&M. McElhannon has been the stock seat instructor for Georgia's Western Riding Association for the past year, and she coaches both Western and English riding. Bass was lecturer and manager of A&M's 140-horse center for five years, and she specializes in Western riding. All three coaches have competed extensively themselves.

A horse is a horse, of course

Equestrian is different from other sports because it uses horses, which experience curiosity, pain, and distaste, just like people. "We are responsible for living beings," says Hughes, "and we have to take care of them so they can take care of us."

"This isn't just a team," says Hughes, "it's 74 girls and 30 horses."

All of Georgia's 30 horses (not including personal and coach horses) were donated. "They are all different and unique, every single one of them," says Boenig, who knows the name of every horse. Sixty horses are needed to hold a competition, and most schools own 35-40. The rest are borrowed from private benefactors, farms, and local barns.

"There's a special bond in the equestrian program between horse and rider," says Wilder, who owns an Arabian named Cricket that he and his wife ride.

UGA's horses are temporarily housed in a barn on animal science land on South Milledge Avenue. A new pole barn—one with no exterior walls—was completed this fall, and the team moved into it in early November. The team is working to raise funds by spring 2003 to construct a $3 million facility on South Milledge. Boenig says she hopes to be at a financial halfway point by spring so workers can break ground.

Influence of Title IX

Since being signed by President Nixon in 1972, Title IX legislation has changed the face of Georgia's female sports. Women's soccer was added to the roster in 1995 and softball in '96. These additions were intended to bring the athletic program in closer compliance with Title IX. "We have to try to meet the interests and abilities of students on campus and provide equal treatment, regardless of gender," says Glada Horvat, associate athletic director for student services.

When athletic director Vince Dooley decided to add another women's sport two years ago, he considered lacrosse, rowing and equestrian. Equestrian was the oldest club sport on campus, founded in 1986, and, according to Horvat, the only sport that lobbied for varsity sponsorship. The cost per person was less as well.

"The great thing is it gives us large numbers for our women," says Dooley. "We're still in the catch-up phase of adding sports, but there's a whole group of people out there ready to support this sport. I never thought three years ago I'd be adding equestrian. I thought, Now we have to buy horses? There are a lot of things I have to learn about this sport, but it's exciting!"

Since Fresno State started the first varsity equestrian team seven years ago, numbers have increased dramatically. The NCAA considers equestrian an "emerging sport," a classification designed to encourage more participation. In order to reach conference status in the SEC, four varsity teams are needed. South Carolina, Auburn and Georgia are already in the fold, and Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss are next in line. To become a championship sport, 40 schools in Divisions I and II are needed.

"I think we'll have an NCAA championship in two years," says Wilder.

Ride to success

Georgia had already earned its spurs in equestrian competition when the club team placed second in a varsity championship in Florida last spring. Georgia's first varsity competition came in September in Columbia, S.C., where Auburn and Georgia both performed well for a first competition; Georgia placed second in Western riding behind Auburn, and fourth in huntseat, with Auburn again second.

"Even though we had several tough draws, our riders rode well with what they had, and displayed wonderful attitude and spirit," said McElhannon after the competition.

Heigh-ho, cowgirl!

Equestrian riding is divided into two disciplines, Western and English, also known as huntseat. English riders wear traditional uniforms with knee-high boots, tan pants, dark jackets and rounded black helmets. Western riders wear fringed chaps, brightly colored outfits and cowboy hats.

The team competes under the auspices of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The host school provides all the horses, giving the home team a clear advantage. Riders draw a horse's name at random, a long-standing rule that supposedly levels the playing field. "I think it's unique," says Hughes. "How often are you tested on your ability to get on anything and ride well?" Riders are judged primarily on equitation—their ability to handle the horse—not the horse's actual movements.

Equestrian coaches and administrators are working to eliminate the need for IHSA rules by adopting NCAA guidelines.

"There's so much luck involved in IHSA," McElhannon says. "A lot of it's not the talent."

Before each competition, coaches choose a "point rider"—the girl they think will perform the best in every event. The point rider receives more points than other riders on the team, if she performs well; to add to the confusion, no one knows who the point rider is until after they compete.

Every sport has its statistical peculiarities, and point rider scoring doesn't work well in a team setting. If the team does well but the point rider has a bad day, the team suffers—which is why NCAA rules are the wave of the future.

Another problem the NCAA has to tackle is that the sport is not currently spectator-friendly. Under IHSA rules, a typical meet runs from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and judging is difficult for a layman to comprehend. Adopting NCAA rules would make competitions considerably shorter, and the rules committee is working to make judging and scoring easier for spectators to follow.

"New rules will ultimately increase the fan base," says Wilder, "and then you'll increase the desire to go varsity."

Following the first competition of the year, USC, Auburn and UGA competed in an exhibition and used experimental NCAA rules.

"It was absolutely wonderful and very exciting," says Boenig. "Things moved smoothly in two and a half hours, and spectators could watch something every minute with no down time.

"Everything we got back from that day was positive, and USC couldn't wait to come to our competition."

In the flat (no jumps) riding events, the horse and rider walk, trot, jog, or canter around the ring in front of a judge. These events—which can be boring for spectators to watch—will ultimately be replaced by more exciting pattern riding. And while spectators will never confuse an equestrian team competition with the Grand Prix jumping events they see on ESPN, the horses do compete in jumps up to 3'3".

UGA hosted a similar exhibition for Auburn and USC after its first home competition on Nov. 23. These exhibitions are preparation for an SEC exhibition tournament next April.

Ride into the sunset

The 60-plus girls on the UGA club team made considerable financial sacrifices in order to spend their college years on the back of a horse. Sherry Wilson, a senior in agricultural communications, was an officer of the club team, which cost $1,200 a semester in dues and fees. Weekend shows added another $80 and riding lessons ran $15 a week. Boarding a horse could run up to $250 a month.

To pay for all that, Wilson lived at and managed a local pony farm, while working at a reining horse farm and juggling a full academic schedule. Now that equestrian is a varsity sport and all those costs are paid for her, Wilson has quit one of her jobs—which gives her more time to study.

Daye also appreciates the perks of a varsity sport. "The club team was such a self-maintained unit, and there are a lot of other resources available to us here," says Daye, who has been riding since age 5. "Riding is such an individual sport that it adds a new element to be with people with common interests. You have to love riding, and you have to show dedication." Besides a weight room and tutors, she says, "I'm just happy there are free horses to ride!"

Hughes had to take out loans to pay for her expensive hobby and sport, but it was worth it, she says.

"Riding is like therapy—it's saved me a lot of money. You come to college and you try to find something that's your niche. I love this team!"

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