RSO - Western Equestrian Team

About Us:

Our team practices once a week in a beautiful AQHA facility, Stony B Acres, located in Bernardston, MA. The team is coached by Hailey Stebbins an AQHA, NRHA professional who herself had a successful IHSA career riding for the University of Findlay. Today Hailey coaches and trains amateurs and youth on the AQHA circuit and is renowned for her ranch riding prowess.

We carpool to lessons and drivers are compensated for gas. We do this because of numerous advantages; it ends up being much cheaper and we get to ride award-winning, trained western pleasure, ranch, and reining horses.

Throughout the fall and spring semester, we compete in eight to ten IHSA competitions against other schools including UConn, Mount Holyoke and Central Connecticut State University. In these shows, the team is split into 7 divisions ranging from Beginner to Open.

Lessons/Practice:

We require all team riders to take lessons once a week (the lessons are scheduled around your own availability) All riders must wear jeans, riding boots and a helmet. We carpool and if you have your own vehicle and become a driver, you are compensated for gas money.

Shows:

There are ~4 ISHA shows a semester and all are required to compete. All riders must wear black high-waisted jeans, black square toe boots and our team show shirt. We share team hats, chaps, belts and buckles but freshman are highly encouraged to invest in their own to make showing easier.

UMWET prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of access to or membership to the organization. UMWET prohibits harassment of members, i.e., racial harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation for filing complaints of discrimination. Members who violate these policies shall be subject to expulsion from the RSO. All members of UMWET are entitled to freedom of speech and will not under any circumstances be deprived of the opportunity to share their opinion with the group.