College competition is mounting
Riders in the competition must use the home team's horses.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Equestrians from a dozen colleges and universities will converge on Little Neshannock Stables on Sunday to compete against Westminster College in a riding competition.
As many as 50 riders are expected to participate, but they won't be bringing their own mounts to the event.
The Westminster College Equestrian Team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, and the IHSA competitions require all riders to use the home team's horses.
Westminster leases horse time from Little Neshannock on the Wilmington-Fayette Road just one mile east of New Wilmington, and the stable will provide the horses for Sunday's competition, which will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., said Evann Garrison, instructor of English and faculty adviser to the Westminster team.
The team is really a club, she said, explaining that it is not a college-sponsored sport, although Westminster Student Government does help support the program. Participating students must pay most of their own costs, she said.
Using home team horses does give the home team an advantage, Garrison said.
During the competition, riders get no warm-up time with their horses but must mount and ride directly into the ring, she said.
"Riders compete in Hunt seat equitation on the flat and over fences, with the jumping classes beginning at 9 a.m.," Garrison said. "Flat classes begin in the afternoon."
Hunt seat uses English saddles.
Requirements
The jump event requires riders to enter the ring, ride around once at a canter and then go over a series of jumps. The course varies with the particular rider's skill level and some jumps are 31/2 feet high, Garrison said.
The flat event requires riders to ride around the ring at a walk, trot and for the more advanced students, a canter.
Classes are judged by professional and accredited judges.
Participating campuses
Allegheny College, Bethany College, California University, Duquesne University, Edinboro University, Mercyhurst College, Penn State Behrend, Penn State Fayette, Slippery Rock University, Seton Hill, West Virginia University and Washington and Jefferson College are all scheduled to have teams at the competition.
Westminster has had an equestrian team only since 1997, Garrison said.
Not all team members are accomplished riders before they get to Westminster, she said.
Typically, they are first-time riders, she said.
Not all riders compete in all classes. Novices, for example, would compete only in the flat competition, she said.
The IHSA has a fall and spring season each year with six competitions each season. There are also regional and national events for those riders who win at the division level and advance, Garrison said, adding that Westminster has had riders reach the regionals in the past.
The current Westminster team includes 11 women, including locals Anna Montgomery, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Montgomery of Cortland; Susan Soroka, daughter of Daniel and Tamara Soroka of Boardman; and Melinda Kramer, daughter of Thomas and June Kramer of Butler, Pa.
The event is free and open to the public.
gwin@vindy.com