The Orono Equestrian Club has been around for multiple years now, only ceasing to exist last year due to a lack of leadership available. “They asked my mom if she could [run the club] last minute, but she was very busy at the time and wasn’t able to,” junior member Amanda Hauser said. MJ, Amanda’s mother, has taken over the responsibility this year.
As adult supervisor for the club, MJ’s responsibilities include “working with the girls to create a supportive atmosphere where they can meet with girls that share their passion of horses” as well as working to further their equestrian knowledge.
Her favorite part of this experience is seeing the girls come together to share their knowledge and learn from one another, as they “really can appreciate the amount of time and dedication each have devoted to their sport,” M. Hauser said.
Because the club does not have a teacher as their adviser, the club does not meet at school or during school hours. Instead, their meetings are conducted at the Hauser household about once a month, though its not unusual to meet more often.
Each member of the club either has their own horse or leases a horse, though they are not all boarded at the same location. One doesn’t need a horse to join the club. However, because of this, the club does not physically ride during their meetings (though they’re looking for a way to incorporate this), but they find activities that correlate around their common interest in horses.
In the past, they have watched equestrian-themed films, made horse treats, volunteered at equestrian events, and labored over necessary paperwork. More recently the club has been hard at work creating a presentation about “what [they] do and why [they] should be able to letter in it,” singular senior member Lauren Schrock said.
Lettering in the club is a significant deal for each member. Schrock said she finds it important because she spends more time working with her horse than she does on the two other sports she has lettered in previously. Hauser feels similarly, adding the fact that it would be nice for college applications to letter in something she does not have to do a school sport for.
The only other school of the 32 in the Minnesota High School Equestrian Association (MHSEA) to not be allocated this recognition is the Blake School.
Athletic director Bucky Mieras said there is a reason behind this lack of award. “We don’t letter any non-MSHSL activities. We letter academic programs, because we’re an academic institution, but outside the MSHSL, we do not letter. A lot of them [non-MSHSL clubs] are working under people that have no connection with the school, even though the students are, but trying to make sure they are really making an academic based setting is difficult,” Mieras said.
Another factor that makes their case special is the fact that their primary showing season takes place during the summer, outside of the school year.
Aside from these barriers, Mieras said it is possible the club may receive recognition in the future. “It’s really revolving with so many outside, external groups—once you say yes to one you might open a door, so we’ve looked at some models of other schools,” Mieras said.
No matter what, Mieras is “really appreciative of the Equestrian Club—the parents, the supervisors, the Minnesota High School Equestrian Association—they’re doing a fantastic job and we recognize that.”
