The Mane Event

Soon after the IU Equestrian Club finished its meeting late Wednesday night, board members showed their battle wounds. The comparisons created quite the spectacle as pant legs were rolled up and bruises and abrasions shown from the last day's training. They were proud of their wounds, and some of the women were even still donning their riding boots.\nIU's Equestrian Club, a Class A club sport, has been in existence since 1982. The club's riding coach, Nadeem Noon, was a founding member of the club when the University stopped offering horse riding through the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation because of insurance issues. He later returned to Bloomington after graduation and, with his wife Sherry, established Up-N-Over Stables, where the club's training and riding lessons are now based.\nCurrently, there are 50 active club members, of which 20-25 compete regularly, numbers that are up by almost three times as much from last year.\nOn average, members put in three to four hours of training a week; however, many of them are putting in the hours daily. Both English and western riding are offered through the club, although there is no official Western coach at this time. Owning horses is not required as they are provided at Up-N-Over Stables through paid lessons.\nRiding competitions, or shows, take place against schools that are mostly within the state or region set by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. There are 15 regionals in which one rider from each will advance to the nationals. This year, the club is running a close second to Notre Dame in the region and may have one rider, vice president and junior Sandra Mutton, eventually advancing to nationals. \nThe members liked the fact that in collegiate riding, riders compete more as a team than as individuals. According to the club's Web site, http://mypage.iu.edu/~iuhorses, riders randomly draw straws for a horse and equipment, creating a different situation every time.\n"A big part of the excitement and challenge is the fact that you don't know which horse or (equipment) that you'll get," president and junior Meredith Hill said.\nCompetitions and the rest of the budget are almost entirely paid for through fund raising by the team.\n"It's pretty commendable, not only are we student coached and student run, but we raised 300 percent of our budget as well," Hill said.\nAside from competitions and fund raising, the Equestrian Club is involved in volunteer work, specifically with People and Animals Learning Services. PALS is a local organization that brings together individuals with physical, learning, cognitive and emotional disabilities with horses to improve their capabilities in everyday life, according to www.palstherapy.org.\nThe Equestrian Club accepts any IU student as a member, regardless of skill level or experience\n"It's just as important that the members who started at the beginning of the year succeed as it is for those who have been riding all of their life," Hill said. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Elizabeth Wepler at ewepler@indiana.edu.