Northwestern’s equestrian team is one of the University’s “best kept secrets” — at least according to coach Meggie Cramer.

Each week, some members drive an hour to Grayslake’s On Course Riding Academy and spend their Saturday evenings riding.

“It’s the highlight of my week. A lot of times, it’s so great to be able to get off campus and destress for a little bit with animals,” said Weinberg sophomore Samantha Alvarez, the club’s social media and community outreach chair.

The team has existed for over 20 years, Cramer said. It initially started as a varsity sport before becoming a club team in the early 2000s. Following a temporary disbandment of the team over the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the team is now back and ready to compete as a club team again in their first year back in the saddle, Weinberg sophomore and club president Caty Hogan said.

Galloping back into action

Despite the team’s longevity, it had a number of hurdles to overcome to reinstate the club after its hiatus.

Hogan said she had to fill out numerous contracts to get approved by the University and also had to work with Cramer to coordinate practices with On Course Riding Academy.

Despite these challenges, members believe it’s worth it to continue riding in college.

Hogan’s mom was on the team when it was still a varsity sport. Thus, Hogan grew up riding and competing throughout middle school and high school. She spearheaded the initiative to reinstate the club.

“I think it was worth it to me to get to (ride) with other (NU) students,” Hogan said. “And to do it as a group thing, rather than just try and go out on my own and find opportunities to ride.”

Cramer has coached NU’s equestrian team since 2017. She said she was waiting for someone willing to take responsibility and ownership in getting the club back up and running — like Hogan. The team has been riding since Fall Quarter with practices each week, and it also hosted its first competition in March.

Some members said the competition went smoothly and were surprised by the support expressed by some of their competitors.
“Everyone was really there for each other,” Alvarez said, “It didn’t really feel like a hostile competitive environment, everyone was just happy for each other the whole time.”

Despite having a team of only three riders, they were the third High Point Team overall on the first day, with Communication junior Ellen Darmstadter as the Individual High Point Rider, and fourth High Point Team overall on the second day, with Hogan as the Reserve Overall High Point Rider.

NU’s last competition before disbanding was the regional competition in 2020. Cramer said two riders subsequently qualified for the Zone Championships, with one qualifying for the National Championship.

Three days later, the “world shut down,” as Cramer said, and both Zones and Nationals were canceled.

Amid the chaos, Cramer moved, and the team slowly fizzled out.

“When I moved away, putting down the team was the hardest thing I did,” said Cramer.

Before the pandemic, the previous team had worked up to fifth in the region after being placed at twelfth. This year, the team placed eighth out of nine after one competition.

Cramer said she took this as a sign that they were back, and said she’s excited to keep working with her new team.
“I’ve started 12 out of 12 before. We can get back,” Cramer said. “We just need to keep making sure people know we exist and that everybody has a good time.”

Stirring up competition

The NU Equestrian Team competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association. However, their competitions look a little different than one might expect.

Cramer said the team rides English, meaning there are no horns on their saddles or cowboy hats. IHSA does contain a Western division, but NU has never competed in it.

The primary focus of IHSA, regardless of division, is equitation: according to Cramer, scoring focuses on riders’ body positioning and how they signal to their horses, so an IHSA rider should be able to execute a pattern effectively regardless of the horse they are riding.

“It’s unique in that we really promote a level of horsemanship and a level of effectiveness in riding that not a lot of people really think about when they’re thinking about an equestrian team,” Cramer said.

IHSA also eliminates the expenses of owning a horse, Cramer said, which traditionally excludes students who cannot afford the high costs of owning and stabling the animals.

Cramer said the host college provides the horses, so that the riders do not have to own or transport a horse to compete.
“One of the things that has been baked into the entire ethos of IHSA is the idea of accessibility,” Cramer said. “So you actually can’t own your own horse on my team. You cannot own your own horse on an IHSA team.”

This unique requirement allows students to participate regardless of their financial situation, but it also requires teams to find an adequate barn with horses to practice.

Reining in potential

For the NU team, On Course Riding Academy is the perfect spot.

Cramer said the barn is “one of the last true lesson barns in the area.” She said that this is due to the treatment and training of owner Valerie Buesching’s horses. While allowing NU’s team to use her horses, she also runs her own academy.

Some of the biggest factors in selecting horses for lessons and IHSA are temperament and mindset, Buesching said. Horses have to be tolerant of the constant switching of riders and enjoy the competitive nature of the program.

“I have the best horses in the area, I feel like,” Buesching said. “They’re good, they listen, I don’t have dead heads that don’t move. I also don’t have fire-breathing dragons that run away with the kids.”

Eight of Buesching’s horses recently went to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association’s national competition, a competition for grades four through 12. Some of them, including horses that the NU team rides each week, brought back national titles.

Heading into the summer, members remaining in the area intend to keep spending time at the barn and practicing. Despite their small numbers, the team is excited to keep working and growing.

Yet the students aren’t the only ones excited to be back — both Buesching and Cramer said they were thrilled to see the NU team spring back to life.

“This is the best thing I do, because at the end of the day, I have infinitely more faith in the future of the world because I hang out with college kids a couple hours a week,” Cramer said.

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