Spring 2006

Partners on a Great Team

In many ways, the story of Ed Arn’s long and well-lived life follows the plot line of the Successful All-American Male.

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After a hard workout, team members enjoy a trail ride and leisurely splash at Hidden Hollow Farms, west of Wooster.

The Practice Ring

“The best way to keep in shape for riding is to ride, and ride some more,” says Richardson. During show season, team members take weekly lessons. Their coach and teacher, Karla Amass, helps them work on various skills—strengthening, jumping, making a smooth transition from one gait to another.

Horst selected Amass to coach the team, based on her experience with Amass in 4-H. Coach Amass doesn’t require members to go

beyond either their financial means or individual talent, says Horst. “ Karla makes the best of each person’s skills, taking us where we are and helping us improve.” Amass owns and manages Hidden Hollow Farms in western Wayne County, where she trains the Wooster team. She holds a degree in animal science with an equine specialty from The Ohio State University and won Nationals in Sport Horse Dressage two years ago.

At a February lesson, Horst tells her coach about a problem she’s having with the sitting trot. Amass knows exactly what Horst means and tells her how to correct it.

“She explains things again and again until we show improvement,” Hannah Leahy ’07 says. “She understands the motives of the horses and instructs us how to respond.”

“Having her as a coach is one of my favorite parts of the whole experience,” Lindstrom agrees.

Amass says that she enjoys training a brand-new team. “I work with 4-H clubs, with a lot of youngsters and beginners. I’m used to starting from scratch. I guess that’s what I do best.”

The Show Ring

The College equestrians compete in shows sponsored by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).Wooster’s team, the newest among the region’s 11 schools, has performed well in its first two seasons. In 2005 Theresa Howell ’06, the regional high point rider in open Hunt Seat, qualified for the national IHSA competition. In one show early in 2006,Wooster beat Ohio State to finish second overall.

“Ohio State had 30 or 40 on its team,” says Julie Horst, “and we only had six competitors at that show.We don’t have multi-million dollar facilities, yet we’ve beaten schools such as Lake Erie College— where people specialize in equine studies.”

Two first-time competitors, juniors Erin Ingram and Hannah Leahy, took first and second places at another 2006 show. By February, Richardson, Lindstrom, and Horst had qualified for four events at the regional competition. At the team’s last competition of the season, Horst was high point rider of the day and two other Wooster team members took home first-place ribbons.

Show participants are judged on equitation—on how they sit on their horses, Amass explains. Participants are assigned horses at random and there’s no time for horse and rider to get acquainted. Once in the saddle, it’s show time. Riders need a variety of techniques at their fingertips. One horse might canter in response to a certain cue, but another might not, leaving the rider to quickly think of other ways to “ask” her horse.

Erica Clites ’06 describes the rider’s task, “You’re trying to figure out the horse and trying to keep on the outside of the ring. (The horses know that when they stand in the ring’s center, their work is over.) Each event is short, five minutes or so. You only get one chance.”

While the shows stress individual performance, the team also earns ribbons as a group. The coach chooses the most experienced student in a particular type of riding to represent the team in each division.Others can show in that division, but the team only receives points won by the designated rider. So a small team like Wooster’s has a distinct disadvantage.

Volunteering, lessons, practices, and a dozen competitions during the school year—how do these women handle it? “I make it a priority,” Julie Horst says firmly, “but it is flexible. You can choose when to take your lesson and when to volunteer.”

Her teammates agree that their commitment results in high rewards—getting outside, learning new skills from a great coach, spending time with the horses, and working with each other.

“You get to be part of a great team!”

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