<p>I was wondering if anyone is involved with or knows anything about the riding program at W&L. I know they have a division III team, so I guess it's really competitive.
I've been riding for 7 years, mostly without formal training but I've done low-level eventing.<br>
I teach beginner English lessons and have broken/trained a couple of horses.</p>
<p>Wait, you teach horses beginner English? I say that's pretty impressive, might just get you on any equestrian team.</p>
<p>I teach group lessons for young children, getting them started at the walk, teaching them to post, and the better ones learn to canter. I have broken a handful of horses, work as a barn manager and riding counselor at a summer camp, and trained my own horse.
Are you a W&L student?</p>
<p><a href="http://athletics.wlu.edu/riding/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://athletics.wlu.edu/riding/index.htm</a></p>
<p>I've been to the site, arctomecon, and found it less than helpful. It is focused more on upcoming events and rosters of members than on prospective members.
My questions are things like:
Are there tryouts? Are they extremely competitive? Is it all hunter? Do you have to have all your own equipment? How much is it per semester? Can you bring your own horse, and how much would that cost?</p>
<p>only way to get that info is to talk to current riders</p>
<p>PM your email address and ill try to get you in touch with one</p>
<p>heyy I rode on the team last year. It's a lot of fun and most of the girls on the team are awesome. There are tryouts right near the beginning of school. I think we had about 11 ppl try out and about 5 new students made the team. It's free to participate, I think you may just have to pay an IHSA fee or something. It's all based on equitation and you've got to be able to ride a wide range of horses. During tryouts, I was asked to walk, trot, sitting trot, canter, ride without stirrups, and jump a course, though it does depend on what level you are. You should definately have your own helmet, gloves, and boots of some sort. If you are asked to show, (and not everyone gets to), it's good to have all of your own show clothes, though many people borrow some stuff, such as tailored sportsman breeches, that they are not ready to buy themselves. You can bring your own horse and board it at the barn the team rides at, which is Fancy Hill Farm in Natural Bridge, (<a href="http://www.Fancyhillfarm.com%5B/url%5D">www.Fancyhillfarm.com</a> I think), but that has nothing to do with the team, and the girls who had their horses there didn't ride them in team lessons. Unfortunately, our wonderful coach last year (who led us to a 1st place ODAC finish), Amy Reistrup, recently passed away. So I have no idea if a new coach has been hired yet. If you have any more questions, Brittany Bansak, one of the team captains, would be the girl to go to. You can reach her at <a href="mailto:BansakB@wlu.edu">BansakB@wlu.edu</a></p>
<p>wow, thank you for the information!</p>
<p>Actually, Amy's husband Greg has been hired. He has quite a resume and should be a great coach.</p>
<p>Amy's husband is a really great guy. We got to know him from a few team dinners, x-mas party, etc. I even got to see him ride at the horse center once and he definitely knows what he's doing.</p>
<p>oh, and his name is Gordon, not Greg.</p>