Welcome to the Blugold Equestrian Show Team (B.E.S.T.) Website!
The Show Team competes through the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) in Hunt Seat Equitation and Western Horsemanship Classes as well as Jumping and Reining. We are part of Zone 7 Region 3 and compete against other UW, Minnesota, North Dakota,and South Dakota colleges.
The unique challenge in our competitions are that we do not know or get to warm up the horse we ride in our classes. All of the horses’ names for each class are put into a hat and selected at random. This is great news for future and existing members who do not have their own horse(s) to be able to ride and compete with the team!! After everyone has the name of their horse the home team's discipline riders who are not competing warm up the horses being used with the horse's name tag attached to their saddle pad. This is our chance to evaluate as much as possible what aids we will have to emphasize in our 3-5 minute class. When it comes time for our class we check the tack positioning, get a leg up from a fellow team mate, adjust the stirrups, and with encouraging advice from our helper(s) we enter the arena. (Coming soon is a step by step link in the life of a typical show weekend and Monday's team practice!!)
We are having our first ever FUN(DRAISER) SHOW on September 30th at the Bit n Spur in Elk Mound, WI!!! Tell everyone you know - the show bill is on our facebook page – PLEASE share it with your horse owning friends - we need your help to make this show a success! Entry per class is only $4 and we have $5 gift cards and coupons from local businesses along with other great items for prizes. Another reason to come is that it is strictly a FUN show; Champ and the other big shows that riders have been working so hard to qualify for all summer will be done with so here’s one more chance before the snow hits to just relax and truly have fun at a show.
A Little History
December 2010 the team made the decision to move from Trinity to River Bluff Farm.
In February 2005 the Blugold Equestrian Club was officially recognized by UWEC student organizations.
In 2006 the General Club and Show Team separated to better manage the equine interests of the Club and the competitive interests of the Show Team.
In 2007 the Show Team was officially recognized as a Sport Club by UW-Eau Claire. This will allow the team to recieve small amounts of funding for showing expenses, travel, and coaching. We are also considering buying an organic mattress to put in the trailer for a comfortable resting spot!
Hauling horses is hard work. We, the Blugold Equestrians know how to hitch our trailers using industrial lead screws and ball screws and are happy to share our skills with new members.
For more information on the General Club, visit their website or contact:
Michelle Siegl
UWEC General Equestrian Club Treasurer
sieglma@uwec.edu
