UF’s equestrian team will walk and jog their horses during a competition in Tennessee this weekend.
Nine UF students will attend the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s 2016 Western Semi Finals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this weekend. The team will be led by coach Jenny Baker, who came to UF this year.
The team qualified Sunday at the regional competition at the University of Central Florida, Baker said. The team beat the second-ranking college by more than 100 points.
“It’s cool to watch everyone improve as much as they did and move on to semi-finals,” Baker said.
Team members will take a bus to the competition, she said. Those competing have to find family or companies to sponsor them.
The team uses the coach’s roughly 20 horses at UF, Baker said, but each member will be assigned a horse at the competition.
“It’s completely luck of the draw. Whether you get an easy draw or a hard draw, it’s very different,” said Baker.
The team’s captain, Casey Presler, 23, said she’s looking forward to competing in her last year.
“It’s sad, but I’m glad that as a team as well as an individual I was able to make it this far and to be able to travel to Tennessee,” the UF animal science senior said.
