By Jennifer ChenThe Daily Northwestern
It’s Friday night, and Weinberg sophomores Jenna Fischman and Samantha Kleinfield have just driven as far away from the university night scene as possible.
The NU Equestrian Team co-presidents didn’t even take the time to eat dinner; making it to their weekly riding lesson on time was much more important.
Red Coat Farm in Hawthorn Woods is the practice ground of the equestrian team, a dedicated group of 30 women who have represented NU in horse shows throughout the Midwest for the past nine years, even though most of the university might not know it.
The team, however, simply sees this as another jump to conquer.
The team faces several problems, including coordinating lessons, funding and figuring out how to build a team feeling with the individualistic equestrian sport.
Coordinating trips to Red Coat for lessons, for example, involves not only accommodating riders’ schedules and finding a certified car, but also a 45-minute car trip.
“It’s hard to get the girls to commit to times with school and everything,” said Red Coat horse trainer Karen Klosowski, 30, the team’s coach. “A lot of them have to cancel out of lessons, but they try hard to have a lesson at least once a week.”
Team member Karen Tam said finding time to ride each week is always difficult.
“I’m pre-med and have to study a lot, so four hours out of my afternoon is a big deal,” the Weinberg senior said. “But it’s worth it.”
Besides training, fundraising and unwinding with the occasional trail ride, members volunteer at the Hippotherapy barn, where children with physical and mental disabilities learn to ride.
The team competed in its first intercollegiate show of the year at Northern Illinois University Oct. 7 to 8. It finished fourth overall, a surprise and victory for the small team.
“We’re at the horse shows competing against schools that have varsity teams that have barns 10 minutes away from campus and can practice everyday, ” Kleinfield said.
The team is also in an economic crunch, she said.
“The school gives us $300 a quarter, which isn’t a lot for a riding team,” Kleinfield said. “A majority of the money goes into funding hotel and car rental fees for away horse shows.”
Add the cost of riding equipment, clothing, $35 lessons and $200 show entrance fees and you get a “very, very expensive sport,” Fischman said.
“Our goal this year is to branch out and just get the word out about our small team and that we need help,” she said.
It would be nice, Fischman said, to get better horses and new equipment rather than having to borrow from the barn all the time. The team is also working toward getting team clothing like their competitors by finding long-lost alumni and planning a fashion show fundraiser. A dream come true would be to buy a team car to solve the members’ transportation problems, she said.
“There are a lot of options for the future of our small team, but they’re impossible right now,” Fischman said.
For the moment, the first step is performing well in the five Regionals qualifying horse shows this quarter.
Teams need 28 points to qualify for Regionals; the NU team currently has seven to eight points in five different divisions.
The team hopes this weekend’s show at Kansas State University will add some points to the list, the co-presidents said.
Each win for the team is a moral victory, Fischman said.
“It’s like we overcame this huge impediment because we don’t have the resources a lot of other teams do,” she said. “The fact that we’re still there and competing and working hard and doing well is amazing.”
Reach Jennifer Chen at [email protected].
