Equestrian team saddles up for ride to state championship competition
While some athletes kick balls, and others swim laps, and still others push their bodies to the limit in distance running events, only one athlete succeeds or fails by collaborating with almost 700 pounds of grade A horseflesh. The West Equestrian team, composed of junior Sequoia Eckstein sophomore Ava Wesenberg, took home the District 4, Division D grand championship on September 25.
The sport consists of directing the horse through patterns and sometimes soaring over fences. Each rider is then given a score based on the accuracy of their performance. Wesenberg has been riding horses since she was young thanks to a happy geographic coincidence.
“I got into horseback riding through my neighbor,” she said. “She said I could come to ride a horse, so I followed through, and now I've been riding for a long time.”
Just as with any other sport, the team needs to get hours of practice in by the time of their shows.
“Ava and I have practiced over the summer, and we are out by our horses every day of the week,”
Eckstein said.
Practice truly does make perfect for these riders. They will be competing at state for the second year in a row this fall.
“It's very exciting to make it to state,” Wesenberg said. “We’ve done it before and I think we are going to do very well this year.”
Past disappointments have the riders hungry for more.
“It's not unusual that we made it to state,'' Eckstein said. “Hopefully, we’ll place better than sixth. I think we’ve got it this time.”
The team has been under coach Ariel Marx's tutelage for six years now. She has developed a strong championship approach with the riders and enjoys the time spent with them.
“It's really fun coaching,” she said. “They’re two different riders, and it’s cool seeing how versatile our team is.”
Marx was a rider on the Equestrian Team in 2009 before she graduated in 2012. This experience has equipped her to lead the team.
“It's super fun,” Marx said. “The main component of this sport is to have your horse and be able to ride and control it as well as do patterns. It's a pattern-based event, so the control aspect is really important in being able to ride.”
Eckstein values the essence of the sport’s uniqueness.
“My favorite part about the sport is probably the connection between the horse and the rider,” she said. “A person learns the horse more than the horse knows you.”
Working hard and preparing can relieve the stress at a competition, however, there are numerous ways one can get disqualified, a concern for the athletes.
“You can get disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct or for going off pattern,” Wesenberg said. “Off pattern means going on the wrong side of the cones or not making it over poles.”
The riders work hard to ensure they know their pattern.
“On the day of the competition I get my pattern from Coach Marx, who knows everything about the patterns,” Eckstein said. “Then I don't talk to anyone; Ava knows I kind of just seclude myself and think about the pattern.”
The team’s limited size allows for a strong bond..
“I like it as two people because Ava and I just know each other better,” Eckstein said. “We also don't have to worry about other classes because we each just have our own.”
Wesenberg agreed.
“Personally, having two people can be either a negative or positive thing; for me, it's more positive,” she said. “You're able to connect, and it’s a lot easier to coach if you look at it from a coaching perspective.”
Some of those team traditions apparently have violated certain safety codes.
“My favorite memory is Ava's mom making breakfast in the stalls at state,” Eckstein said. “We are not allowed to do that this year because apparently, it's a fire hazard.”
Of course, there is one ingredient that always makes the meal taste better.
“I cherish all the good times we have,” Wesenberg said. “It's even better when we win.”
Despite the 700-pound variable, the equestrian sport shares one significant similarity to every other.
“I like seeing how your hard work pays off,” Wesenberg said. “The more you put in, the more you get out.”
By Makenna Freund And Sophie Carlin
Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue II
October 31 2022