Ward Sutlive, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor

The Berry women’s equestrian team is preparing for a new season with many up-and-coming freshmen players.  Margaret Ellington, head coach of the team, is optimistic about the upcoming season. 

“We’re still a pretty young team,” Ellington said. “But we’re growing, practicing and working really [hard] now, so we’re in the swing of things.” 

The dynamics within the team have been positive this season. This is in part due to the fact that they all work to maintain a positive attitude no matter what. According to Ellington, the seniors have played a major role in this environment by taking on a mentorship role for the younger members of the team, as well as offering advice and support. The practices can be rigorous for freshmen riders, and the seniors try to alleviate this by encouraging the freshmen and giving them tips on how to improve. Many team members appreciate the sense of community that they have found on the team. 

“All the girls are super welcoming,” Kyra Eno, a freshman member of the Hunt Seat team,  said. “I’m coming from California, [which] is quite a ways away, and I feel like everyone’s taken me under their wing.” The teams are split into two sub-teams, respectively known as Western and Hunt Seat. The teams work as one for home shows and special events. For meets, shows and some practices, however they travel as two separate teams. They had a scrimmage this weekend, which acted as a way for everyone to challenge each other to do their best and to see where they were at in their riding. Hunt Seat has a meet coming up Saturday, while Western’s meet will happen in two weeks. 

Everyone on the Western team is in high spirits for the meet, however, they know that there will be challenges. 

The team does multiple  exercises to prepare for meets. Ellington chooses exercises for each rider after receiving their class and work schedules at the beginning of each semester, Ellington then schedules two or three riders of the sub-team into a one-hour practice two days a week. Riders are required to do one practice on their own each week. They call that practice session a “free ride.” The players are separated into these groups in order to make the racing arena less crowded and easier to maneuver in.

“We wouldn’t want to have 25 horses in the arena at one time,” Ellington said. 

Eno has a lot of goals that she wants to achieve, as well as some challenges that she wants to overcome this season. One of her goals is to maintain team camaraderie and match the strength of single-disciplined schools.  

Eno has also improved in a lot of areas, such as her ability to adapt to new situations, like always having a different horse to ride.  However, Eno does have two self-critiques.  On an athletic level, she wants to soften up and raise her hands when riding a horse. On a more personal level, she thinks that she is too hard on herself, and wants to change that. Eno is eagerly anticipating the upcoming meet.  

Thompson is in her final year on the team and prioritizes maintaining balance in her riding. She wants to work on being more present in the moment and not letting her mind be clouded by academics and other stressors. Last season, the MSU Equestrian team beat the Western team. This year, Thompson wants to turn the tables on their opponents, and beat MSU. 

This season, there are a lot of riders to watch out for. According to Eno and Thompson, Meaghan Kursman, head captain of the Hunt Seat team, is an excellent leader due to her experience and drive. 

“Meaghan always shows up and shows out,” Thomspon said. 

Ariana Welch is a freshman rider for the Western team. She has a lot of experience and has impressed a lot of her teammates with her knowledge and tenacity. Thompson has high hopes for new western recruit Lillie Loomis. 

“Lillie is one of our newest Western Riders, and she’s  going to be amazing,” Thompson said. 

Multiple freshmen have made a good impression this season, despite only being a part of the team for a relatively short time. 

Eno in particular is surprised by the amount of freshmen who have surpassed expectations in the arena.

Ellington is happy with the uptick in new recruits that this season has seen. She knows that the new members will bring many new strengths, which will pair well with the returning riders’ gifts. While Ellington knows that it will be a challenge for her team to balance their duties on the field along with their academic studies and LifeWorks jobs, she believes that they are up to the task. 

“I think that we have two strong teams within one,” Ellington said. “And we’re just going to see how it plays out.”