The Georgia Southern Equestrian Team (GSUET) is a club sport available to students at

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hine ...

. The club develops an understanding in equestrian activities and horsemanship and unites collegiate horse owners, riders, and anyone interested in horses. It introduces members to equine activities in the community. Team members who join the

Intercollegiate Horse Show Association The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) is a nonprofit organization composed of men and women of all riding levels and offers individual and team competition in hunter seat equitation, Western horsemanship and reining at more than 400 m ...

(IHSA) compete with other IHSA team in horse shows hosted by different barns in the southeast. Individuals and the team compete in Zone 5, Region 3 of the IHSA. Each member takes two lessons a week. The Georgia Southern Equestrian Team students are taught grooming, feeding, and health care skills. All riding disciplines are presented and the facility provides well-trained horses for the riders. The GSUET is funded mostly by its members' team fees. However, each year the team is also allotted a budget from Georgia Southern's CRI (Campus Recreation and Intramurals). Many of the saddles and other tack used by the team are purchased through CRI. Team members pay for their own riding lessons, riding attire, show clothes, and entry fees for shows.

Location

The Georgia Southern Equestrian Team rides at Evermore Farm. . Evermore Farm is located in Bulloch County, Georgia, near Brooklet, Georgia and is about half an hour from the Georgia Southern University. Evermore Farm is a full service equestrian center.

Accomplishments

Evermore Farm students have competed successfully since 1990 at local and national shows in several disciplines, including

United States Equestrian Federation The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF or US Equestrian) is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917, as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed to the Ameri ...

(USEF),

American Quarter Horse Association The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive even ...

(AQHA), Palomino Horse Breeders Association, (PHBA) Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), Coastal Hunter Circuit (CHC), Progressive Show Jumping (PSJ) and

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

. Their horses and riders have won top ribbons at many shows and events, including a World Champion, and Reserve National Champion. At the IEA National Championship held in Conyers, Ga., the Georgia Southern Equestrian Team placed third out of 19 teams that qualified out of more than 200 teams nationwide. They also placed second at the Leefield finals.

History

The Georgia Southern Equestrian Team was founded in 1993 by four members: Celest Youmans, Betsey Fagin, Wendy Wheeler, and Fran Becket. The first coach employed by the GSUET was a student coach, team member Fran Becket. The team used Wolfpen Farm facilities as their home base for shows and lessons. The team was not having good luck with finding horses that could participate with the team. They used mostly their own horses and borrowed some horses from the community for shows. In 1998, the GSUET moved to Evermore Farm in Brooklet, about a 30-minute drive from the GSU campus. They also hired Elanor Ellis as their new coach, who is still the coach today. In 1999, a certified American Quarter Horse Association judge, Ms. Jones, left UGA and worked with Georgia Southern for a year to help improve the equestrian program.

Showing

The team at Georgia Southern is part of a large network of equestrian teams in the southeast.

The United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

is divided into zones and each zone is divided into regions. Currently the GSUET is located in Zone 5, Region 3. The team competes against several colleges in the southeast including;

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, Georgia State, Emory, Wesleyan,

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

, Florida State,

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. Each year members of the GSUET compete to earn points in order to move up in their show classes, which range from beginner's walk/trot to the more experienced open levels. Once a rider earns enough points to move up a class, they qualify to compete at regionals. From regionals, first through third-place winners then advance to zones where the first and second-place winners move on to nationals, where many GSUET members have competed before. The GSUET made its presence well known at the 2006 nationals as its entire western team competed after winning first place in the region, and second in the zone. Along with the western team an English rider took tenth in Advanced Walk/ Trot/Canter.

Fundraisers

On February 26, 2011, Georgia Southern University Equestrian Team hosted their third annual Spring Fling at Mill Creek Regional Park in Statesboro, Georgia. Proceeds from entertainment were donated to the Bulloch County Humane Society Fun activities included carnival rides, games, contests, and a petting zoo The Swinging Medallions, a local cover band, provided entertainment throughout the day, and a dance off competition was also held.GSU Equestrian Team Hosts Spring Fling. Evanne Floyd. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

Location

Accomplishments

History

Showing

Fundraisers

References

Further reading