Horse Show Team Riding High

December 03, 2018 - 01:38 PM

What the Mt. SAC Horse Show Team lacks in experience and resources it makes up for in passion, heart and love of horses.

That may be why the only community college horse show team in the region can hold its own against teams from four-year universities with much bigger budgets including Cal Poly Pomona, Arizona State and UCLA.

Despite some challenges, Mt. SAC team members brought home four, second-place ribbons from the first IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association) Western Horse Show of the season. One winner, like many of her teammates, had never competed in a horse show before.

Professor Jennifer Loredo, the team’s newest advisor, said the mission of IHSA is to promote competition among riders regardless of skill level, prior experience, gender or financial status. The group emphasizes learning and sportsmanship and fosters teamwork.

“Teamwork and camaraderie were definitely the theme,” Loredo said of the most recent  competition held at Cal Poly Pomona. “We had to borrow horses and we had to borrow a horse trailer. Students were sharing hats and show clothes, which can be very expensive.”

IHSA rules require each team to provide three show horses for each event but Mt. SAC’s team only has one so they had to borrow two.  All the horses are thrown into a pot where they are matched up with riders by lottery so Mt. SAC team members may wind up competing on a horse provided by UCLA.

Riders are judged on their horsemanship. Despite the stiff competition, one Mt. SAC team member took tenth place in the nationals in 2017.

Weekly practices are staggered because the 12-member team only has five horses available to ride. One of Loredo’s goals is to schedule more practices over intersession so the team can get more time in the saddle.