|
Starting any club from scratch is hard work-starting an equestrian club that competes several times a year is especially hard work because it brings with it many special requirements. But hard work, talent, and determination have come together at Northern Illinois University to form the first NIU Intercollegiate Equestrian Club (IEC), a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). IHSA promotes competition for collegiate riders at all skill levels regardless of their financial status. This is not an organization for those who can afford the right horse. Instead, it is an organization that tests true horsemanship. Riders cannot ride their own horses. At competitions, the hosting college provides horses and tack. Through a random drawing, riders and horses are paired; there are no warm-ups. Instead, the riders mount, enter the ring, and demonstrate their ability-not their pocketbook.
Although riders don't need to own their own horses, and never have the expense of transporting horses around the country for competitions, they still face many expenses if they want to participate. To prepare for shows, all team members must take lessons. To travel to competitions, riders must provide for their transportation and accommodations. And finally, to compete, riders must have appropriate show clothes, including jackets, breeches, helmets, shirts, boots, and gloves. As a startup team, NIU's members are digging deep into their own pockets, funding the expenses. A few generous donations are helping to cover travel expenses and entry fees for their first show.
 |
|
Team NIU with Coach
Christine Hambaugh-de Rama
(mounted far left) and Florence and Paul Butler (standing to the
right without riding clothes) |
Jenny Walter: The Driving Force
As founder and club president, Jenny Walter has worked endlessly to organize the team, find a faculty sponsor, arrange lessons, and get approved by NIU's Student Association. But for this Rockford native, it was a labor of love. She knew what it was like to be a part of a competitive club and to combine higher education with the love of riding. Before transferring to NIU, Jenny attended St. Andrews College in North Carolina, where there was a strong equestrian program. While moving back to Illinois may have seemed like a natural turn of events for a Prairie State girl, she discovered that something was missing when she got here, and so she set out to get NIU involved in the IHSA. Jenny felt that NIU was ripe for such a club, "Being involved in St. Andrews' IHSA club and on their regular equestrian team was so much fun and such a challenge. I went to a lot of shows and did well-thanks to the great horses I was able to ride. I wanted to bring that experience to other riders at NIU. I knew this was a horsey area and considering the size of NIU's campus, I was sure there would be interest. And everything just fell into place. After I put an ad in the paper, I had all kinds of calls from interested students. Then I found a great coach, Christine Hambaugh
- de Rama, and a wonderful riding facility just minutes from campus. And now I've got this great group of girls who are helping me in every way that they can. And here we are, preparing for our first show."
Riding since she was five-years old, Jenny is a talented equestrian. She developed her hunter-jumper skills under the tutelage of Connie Curtis-Stevens. Her path mirrors that of many young riders. As a youngster, she rode all the time and competed frequently. As a teenager, she found other interests, sold her pony, and let riding take a back seat. When she discovered the equestrian program at St Andrews, Jenny's competitive riding spirit came back to the forefront, and she's been riding hard ever since. Like most talented equestrians, horses dominate her free time. When not going to school or riding with her IEC members, she heads back home to the Rockford area to help her sister, Kelly Walter, with Kelly's therapeutic riding program, Hands 'N Hooves.
Meet the Team
The twelve student members of NIU's IEC bring with it a variety of skill levels, ranging from fairly new riders to seasoned competitors. Although the team will compete in hunter-jumper classes (the preferred discipline of most members) there is one member who has learned and competed in Western riding classes and another who has learned and competed in Saddleseat. Members include Jennifer Walter (President), Marie Tulin (Vice President), Meghan Drolen (Secretary), Beth Kosinski (Treasurer), Christine Erler, Kristin Torier, Meghan Erickson, Kelly Lamphere, Dorothy Bedmarczyh, Shannon Bert, Melissa Axelson, and Lesly Garraway. Denise Schoenbachler, a professor of marketing at NIU is the faculty advisor. Professor Schoenbachler is also an equestrian who rides and competes regularly.
These young women bring to the organization, the kind of enthusiasm and talent that it takes to get a club off the ground. As they work hard on their skills, both as individuals and as a team, they realize that the competition will be tough. Most teams are already established, have already competed together, and have already experienced the random matching of horse and rider at IHSA meets. For several of the members, it will be their first time in the show ring. Showing brings with it a certain level of stress-showing on an unknown horse will multiply that level-and at the same time, allow the rider to demonstrate true ability.
While the team wants to do well in their premiere year as representatives of NIU, they also know that it is just as important to have fun and be safe. "I just want everyone to have a really good experience with it," says Jenny Walter. "It would be great to come home winners, and we are working hard on that, but first we want to have a good time doing this." Team coach Christine Hambaugh - de Rama agrees and adds that she wants the team to have a solid learning experience as well.
Meet the Coach:
Christine Hambaugh - de Rama has been riding non-stop since she was nine. Her first foray into teaching began during her sophomore year in high school when she would substitute teach. As a hunter-jumper she has shown throughout the northern Illinois region. With many B shows under her belt, she is now looking toward the A circuit. Only 24, Hambaugh
- de Rama is the owner-operator of Stonebridge Equestrian Center, operated out of Cottonwood Stable in Malta, Illinois. An active instructor and trainer, she is currently teaching over 30 lessons a week, and is training several young horses. The whole IEC team agrees that Ms. Hambaugh
- de Rama is a superb coach. Her unwavering love of the sport, her endless enthusiasm, and her bubbling personality makes the team very responsive to her coaching style. "She is so good to ride with," says club secretary, Meghan Drolen. "She makes coming to lessons a lot of fun."
The Stables
NIU's IEC is fortunate to have an active and well-equipped stable just minutes from campus. Cottonwood Stable of Malta, owned and operated by Florence and Paul Butler, has several excellent school horses available to the team; and they have generously opened their indoor arena late evenings so team members can take lessons late into the night-the only time these full-time college students can get together at the same time. Cottonwood Stable also hosts the NIU Athletic Department horseback riding classes, which are offered each semester.
The Future
For so many equestrians, college and riding just don't go hand in hand, especially when students move away from home, living far from their stable, and worlds away from the hustle and bustle of lessons, shows, and barn camaraderie. For many riders, the loss of the equestrian connection is one of the hardest adjustments to college life. But for equestrians attending Northern Illinois University, the adjustment may be a little easier from now on, thanks to the organizing efforts of Jenny Walter. "We want to see the team grow," says Jenny. And perhaps someday, the club might even have its own horses. Many IHSA school teams do have their own horses, often donated. And although that is not something we can consider right now, it is certainly a possibility in the future."
|