Best in Show

Imagine that it is 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning — it's cold, windy and raining. In a matter of hours, you will be riding on a horse that you have never seen before in a sport that you only started this year. For most, this would be a nightmare, but for the members of the Princeton Equestrian Team it is a reality, and they love it.

"Equestrian riding outside of college is often a very individual sport," team vice-president and senior Kris Ravenhorst said, "and so the great thing about PUET is having people there to help you get ready, cheer you on while you're in the ring and be there for you whether you win or lose."

PUET was founded as a club sport during the 1970s and has since steadily grown. The team is open to all skill levels and carpools to lessons at Silver Dollar Stables every Friday morning, a 10-minute ride from campus.

The Tiger cavalry currently has 29 riders. Though such a large roster in an already expensive sport can be challenging, PUET has had relatively few financial problems in mounting a strong program.

"We are a club sport, and so funding is always an issue, but club sports is extremely generous with our funding, due to the expensive nature of our sport," junior team treasurer Michelle Fox said.

Princeton competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, in which competition consists of jumping with different divisions based on skill level. Points are awarded from first place down to sixth with each school receiving the points of its highest riders. Since each division scores, every competition truly becomes a team sport where even beginners need to have as strong a performance as the more advanced riders.

"As a result, the most inexperienced riders on the team, those in walk/trot, are just as important as the most experienced riders, those in Open," Fox said.

Although many sports have the concept of home-field advantage, equestrian teams have found a way around home-horse advantage. Horses are essentially drawn out of a hat at the beginning of a show — frequently providing an additional challenge for the Tiger riders.

"This method can certainly be challenging because every horse is a very unique ride, and they all have their particular quirks and characteristics that demand different riding styles," Ravenhorst said. "Basically, a good rider should be able to make any horse look like a completely effortless ride."

Riders are scored by judges on numerous criteria of equitation: control of the horse, position and timing of jumps. The proper rider will avoid leaping too far past the jump or "chipping" a jump too short.

Princeton has become one of the stronger teams in the region in recent years — culminating in this year's exciting successes. The Tigers have been named highest point at the first three shows of this season and reserve highest point at their fourth.

"We have a great chance to qualify for zones this year, which would be the first time the team has done so in a very long time, if ever," Ravenhorst said.

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Princeton's move to a new set of facilities and new coach Ashton Phillips, who competes nationally in equitation, have played a large role in this fall's victories.

"The facilities are phenomenal at this stable, and we feel very lucky to have it," Fox said, commenting on this year's new barn. "We are very lucky to have [Coach Phillips], and he is responsible in large part for making our team what it is today."

The Tigers this year will look to dismount their traditional opponent Lehigh University in the spring and to have a strong finish at the Ivy League Show hosted at Cornell in April.