The LSU Equestrian Team continued its streak of success by winning its region for the sixth consecutive year Sunday. Even though the scoring is based on individual achievement, the club credits coach Leaf Boswell’s emphasis on teamwork for its success.
The club was founded in 1999 and later sponsored by the UREC. The club hosts tryouts in August, then practices once a week for the academic year. The team requires no prior riding experience and welcomes anyone who wants to join.
Boswell joined the team as an assistant coach during the 2004-05 season and was named head coach the following year. Boswell is a life sciences professor and a former member of the club. Her understanding of the sport and her attention to detail makes her connection with the riders genuine, mass communication senior and club president Sarah Campbell said.
“She knows how to coach us in a way that will be beneficial to us in the competitions, and just has a really good eye for each individual rider and what she needs to help them with,” Campbell said. “She’s the one thing that is consistent about this team. People quit and come and go and we get new members every year, but she is that one constant that is there and knows everything. She’s a big reason why we are as good as we are.”
The team is a member of Zone 5 Region 4 under the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. The club hosted the regional competition at BREC Farr Park Equestrian Center from March 3 to March 5, featuring Tulane University, Rice University, Trinity University, Texas State University-San Marcos and University of Texas at Austin. As the meet host, the club was given the responsibility of arranging for horses and judges.
Campbell said an important part of the club is the team aspect. Even though club members compete individually, the experience of competing in meets together improves motivation and morale, she said.
“When you go to a horse show with your horse and compete, you’re competing for yourself. You’re not with a team,” Campbell said. “Every ribbon [we] get, every point [we] score goes toward helping our team. That’s such a cool thing to be able to be a part of. To get to do what you love and do it with all these other people doing the same thing is so great.”
The club could only enter three riders in each event because of the considerably smaller team size of other competing schools. The aspect of being a team is important as Boswell decides which rider will compete in each event based on the rider’s strengths and skills. The club usually competes in one show in the fall and two or three in the spring before its regional competition. The points earned at each competition are tallied, and the final count determines who wins the region and advances to nationals.
Campbell has been riding horses since she was seven years old and says the sport has been a big part of her life. She said she knows the sport isn’t as recognized as much as other sports, but she hopes more people can learn more about it.
“‘You just sit there. You don’t really do anything. The horse does all the work.’ Those are things we hear a lot that are super frustrating,” Campbell said. “It’s a connection you have. You’re working with this one thousand-pound animal that has a mind of its own, and you have to tell it what to do and look like you’re not.”
As a senior, the regional competition was Campbell’s last home meet, and while she will advance to the Zones Championship in Ocala, Florida, she is already treasuring her memories with the team. For younger members, the bond with other riders makes the club just as special. Mass communication sophomore Celest Wilson said the club has taught her lessons beyond just riding horses.
“It’s been a great learning experience to be an officer on the team. I’m just a sophomore, but I’ve learned years of experience just coordinating this one horse show,” Wilson said. “It’s been a great learning and life experience I’ll cherish for a long time.”
Editor’s Note: The article was edited to correct Sarah Campbell’s last name, which was originally written as Edwards. The Daily Reveille regrets this error.