In the past, the Massachusetts Equestrian Team hasn’t received extensive media coverage and as a result, most students do not know much about equestrianism.

As one UMET rider put it, “I recently told a friend that I was member of the equestrian team; they thought it was some club dance team.”

Despite lacking student support on campus, the squad won the Zone 1, Region 3 Hunter Seat championship in 2008, along with the Western Style Championship in the same region  two out of the first three years in its existence. Zone 1 consists of the New England states, minus Connecticut, and Region 3 refers to the nine schools that compete against each other week-after-week.

The eight schools that UMass competes against are as follows: Mount Holyoke, Smith, Westfield State, Springfield College, Amherst, Williams, Landmark and Hampshire.

The team traveled to Smith College for the Smith Show this past Saturday for its first regional show of the year. UMass had high hopes going into the show, as just two weeks prior, they tied for third place at the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions on Sept. 24 in Ohio. The tournament included schools from all over the country and the Minutewomen finished only behind Miami of Ohio and Virginia Intermont.

UMass finished off the long day in Northampton with 41 overall points, which tied them with rival  and defending regional champion Mount Holyoke for first place. The Minutewomen had many contributions towards their success, receiving a number of individual blue ribbons. Jaclyn Mazzarella won the Class 6A Intermediate Fences class while captain Kari Searls won the Class 6B Intermediate Fences and placed second in Class 3A Novice Flat.

Captain Courtney Bryggman won the Class 7A Open Flat, Michayla Marcil won the Class 2bA Advanced walk-trot-canter, and Margaux Sarin won the Class 2bC Advanced walk-trot-canter. Both Searls and Sarin qualified for the regional finals with their exceptional performances.

Rounding out the highlights were Meaghan Laprade, finishing the day as the High Point Intermediate Rider, and newcomer Chelsea Dowling as the Reserve High Point Rider for Novice.

Laprade, a senior from Belchertown, has been with the team since her freshman year, and has been riding for the majority of her life. Receiving her first horse at age 11, she says it gave her a sense of responsibility, as she was caring and dedicating her life toward another living creature. She sought out the UMass team due to its history and superior coaching.

While those who aren’t involved in equestrianism don’t always understand the dedication and costs of competing, Laprade said that it takes a tremendous commitment. The squad practices four times a week (twice at 5:30 a.m.) and workout regularly to prepare for the eight regular season shows that occur each semester before regionals.

“We basically have no time for ordinary lives,” said Laprade. “We have the barn, the horses, and each other. That’s it.”

Unlike the majority of UMass sports, the Equestrian Team is not funded. The riders must come up with a way to pay for their own equipment and other necessities.  The boots can cost over $1000 per pair, a helmet is another $150, and there are numerous riding fees throughout each semester that accumulate to more than $1000. This means a new rider would have to pay well over $2000 just to spend a semester with the team.

So why would these young college women ever want to put forth all of this time, effort, and money to go along with their already time-consuming education?

“It’s our lives,” said Laprade. “The bond that I have had with my horse growing up really helped me to mature as a person. The feeling of having a horse listen to you and rely on you is just an indescribable feeling.”

The horse has just as much of a responsibility in the shows as the rider does. Before the show, rider and horse each have their own agenda, but once it begins, they have to rely on each other.

Mount Holyoke hosts the show this Saturday, as UMass will face off against the same eight Region 3 rivals as they did last week.

Taylor Snow can be reached at [email protected].