For a program that has quietly flourished on this campus over
the past two years, the UCLA equestrian team finds itself in a
unique position.
Though the team has doubled in size and has proven to be
nationally competitive, it is still without any sponsorship or club
sports status that would provide it with much-needed funding.
Even without that financial help, the team probably won’t
dissolve. But if team members are able to convince the UCLA
recreation department to make them an official club sport at a
hearing at the end of the month, they are confident equestrian
could one day thrive at a national collegiate level.
“The status would be an enormous help because we would
receive funding that would pay for many of the expenses that come
with horse riding,” Co-President Sarah Phaklides said.
“We do not have any private funding either, so each girl pays
her own way.”
It’s not a formality that equestrian, now in its second
year at UCLA, will become a club sport next year. Phaklides and her
teammates are extremely optimistic because of the sport’s
growth on campus and the team’s success on the national stage
this past weekend, where they competed at the National Horse
Championship Show in Sunbury, Ohio. Those are two of the major
criteria the recreation department uses in its decision-making
process.
“We have been able to grow in popularity and achieve
national success without any financial support,” Co-President
Melissa Mueller said. “It’s shows the strong commitment
the girls on the team have and the love they have for horse
riding.”
The foundation has been laid by a core of young women who have a
history of competitive horse riding. In only its second year on
campus, the team has 15 members, twice the number of riders it had
in its inaugural season.
“There is a strong presence on campus of girls who have
ridden horses throughout high school and come to college wanting to
continue on a more advanced and organized level,” Mueller
said.
The costs of riding equipment, practice time and horse rentals
can total $2,000 per rider, and a show can run up to $500
collectively.
Unless they receive university funding, the steep
extracurricular costs that go into horse riding could limit certain
students from joining the equestrian team. Participating in
regional and national events could also prove to be difficult given
the costs of traveling.
“Nobody has been kept off the team because of the
costs,” Mueller said, “but if and when the team becomes
a club, then we think the sport will really flourish.”
But for now, the equestrian team has no choice but to front all
its expenses, including practice time at Hansen Dam, a nearby
equestrian facility.
Despite the considerable cost, the UCLA team has had a short but
successful history.
The Bruins placed three riders at the nationals last weekend,
improving on last year’s showing by tripling the number of
riders who advanced through regional competition to make it to the
national level.
Mueller placed 10th in novice flats and Phaklides placed seventh
in intermediate fences after being the lone UCLA representative at
nationals last year.
“Showing up in Ohio and competing with other schools who
have had a more developed equestrian program proved that we are in
the right direction,” Mueller said. “We would love to
see continued success at Nationals every year.”
The National Championship featured riders from across the
country who are all members of the Intercollegiate Horse Show
Association. The league has grown and developed since its inception
in 1967 and now encompasses over 29 regions in nine zones with more
than 6,500 college riders.
For those who might not follow competitive horse shows, the
sport is still mostly unknown ““ an obstacle the team is
trying hard to overcome.
“We recognize that not everybody knows about our
equestrian team,” Mueller said. “We want people outside
of women’s horse riding to know exactly what the sport is
because it will only help the popularity of the sport and the
support for our team.”
UCLA has been in the top four of its region the past two
seasons, competing against schools such as USC and Arizona.
“It might surprise people, but up and down California,
there are several competitive equestrian teams that we compete
with,” Phaklides said.
Both Mueller and Phaklides have been contacted on a regular
basis by prospective students who are deciding whether to attend
UCLA in the fall based on the Equestrian team’s success.
“We are really excited to see all the hard work of
creating a team and getting it organized come to fruition,”
Phaklides said. “Now the fun of growing as a team and
competing will really start.”