Cecilia Calarraga

Students may not see members of the Oberlin College Equestrian Team practicing on North Fields, wearing chaps around campus or lugging helmets under their arms. Don’t be fooled, though: OCET is one of the largest club sports, formidable in competition and constantly continuing to help Oberlin students explore their varied passions.

With upward of 40 members, ranging from first-years to seniors, OCET has grown larger than ever. The smooth management of such a massive team is due largely to the team’s five officers: senior and president Lisa Greenberg, junior and co-chair Robin Holmes, junior and secretary Lauren Cunningham, senior and treasurer Erin Romberg, and junior and publicity manager Sarah Fisher. “I love being so involved in it, though, since I’m at the barn working or riding almost every day,” says Greenberg. “It’s like a second home.”

Along with several other riding instructors, Coach Ric Weitzel and his wife Julie are working hard to ensure that all team members are situated in lessons at the correct skill level and are improving their riding ability. The Weitzels are the owners of Equine Differences, the farm and training facility where OCET members ride, just a few miles north of campus on Route 58. The facility has over twenty horses, several paddocks where horses can graze and fields out back for trail riding.

“Ric and Julie have been so wonderful as to build us our own section of the barn, get horses for us to use, and allow us huge amounts of ring-time and equipment,” says Greenberg.

The bottom line of commitment for team members is one lesson once a week, though many ride in multiple lessons, ride their own horses, or “lease” a horse for practice during a designated time. Team members ride in one or more of three separate equestrian disciplines: hunt seat, western, and dressage. Each specialization calls for the use of different types of horses, different equipment or “tack” and different techniques on the part of the rider. Many members take lessons in more than one discipline, which speaks to their commitment to the sport and their willingness to improve their riding ability. Given the nature of the sport, team members are also responsible for horse care, keeping the riding facility neat and cleaning tack.

Aside from riding there, many team members participate in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions in both hunt seat and western disciplines. In these competitions, OCET members are randomly assigned to ride unfamiliar horses in front of a judge and are evaluated on their abilities to perform designated tasks, such as jumping fences or showing the horse at a certain gait. During the last hunt seat competition weekend, twelve team members, including first-year newcomers Justine Black, Anna Brown, Cassie Burley, Nora Hammack, and Hannah Kahn, brought the heat and managed to beat one of OCET’s biggest rivals, Lake Erie College.

“It is hard for a small liberal arts college like Oberlin to compete in our division against massive universities who have more access to funding and greater numbers,” says Holmes. “The fact that both Oberlin teams continually put competitive pressure on these schools is a testament to the quality of our program and the dedication of our coaches, advisor, officers, and team members.”

For more information on joining OCET for the spring semester, regardless of experience level, please see http://www.oberlin.edu/stuorg/ocet/contact.html.

Cecilia Calarraga is a member of OCET.