While Oakland University is home to a plethora of club sports, from football, to fencing, to even ballroom dance, students looking for a club sport to put the wind in their hair are in luck. The Oakland University Equestrian Team is a hands-on Equestrian experience that allows students to learn, practice, and compete in horse shows around Michigan, while creating bonds with the 15 horses the team has access to.
Although the team represents OU in Rochester, practices do not take place on campus. Instead, Sarah Hohensee, the president of the equestrian club, explains how their practices take place at the Fox Pointe Equestrian Center, next to Lake St Clair.
“We ride at our barn out by Lake St Clair,” Hohensee said. “Our coach has lots of borders at that barn that let us use the horses for our lessons and to practice on, so we have a large variety that we get to work with.”
Club members not only ride the horses, but create a special connection by helping take care of them each practice before even pulling out a saddle.
“We all get very excited about the horses we’re on,” Hohensee said. “We know these horses, and we’re very excited to get a chance to work with them. We get them all tacked and groomed, we’ll brush them out, put their saddle and their bridle on, and walk out to the ring.”
The equestrian club isn’t just for those already trained in horse riding, as students of any skill level are welcome to join in.
“You don’t need any experience whatsoever,” Hohensee said. “You could have been riding your whole life and just want to continue, but we also love having newcomers who’ve never ridden before.”
An interesting draw that new riders don’t think about is the logistics of riding a horse itself.
“Horses are such large amazing animals,” Hohensee said. “It’s very cool to watch somebody be able to sit on this 1,000 pound animal and work together while staying on the whole time.”
There are many aspects of the club to fawn over, from learning how to work with a horse, to traveling around for competitions, but Hohensee explains that her favorite aspect of the club is the bond she shares with the horses.
“I love feeling the bond that you share between a horse, that feeling of working together and trusting that horse to keep you safe,” Hohensee said. “I have some of my personal favorite horses that I would trust with my life, being on them, that I feel very safe.”
While she loves many of the horses found in the club, Hohensee’s favorite horse is Practice.
“His name is Practice, and he is a larger chestnut thoroughbred,” Hohensee said. “I feel very safe when I ride him, and I feel like I can do just about anything working together with him. I always get excited when I show up and get told that I’m going to be riding him.”
For students interested in creating a new type of bond in the equestrian club, you can visit their grizzorgs webpage, or email [email protected] for more information.
