It seems that when the words “state championship” are associated with students, the majority of the school thinks of the girls basketball team. However, the equestrian team won the state championship in 2012 and students have gained more appreciation for the sport. The 13-year-old program became a varsity sport in 2011, and the team has made history ever since. Although the program is very successful, few people know much about it. Here are six key points you should know about the equestrian team from sophomore Olivia Ortiz and coach Joanne Kosanic.

1. Practice:

Olivia Ortiz: “We practice at the Kosanics, usually no less than two hours every Tuesday but it varies from week to week. We practice during the summer and compete in competitions on our own time. Sometimes we have our own private lessons too.”

2. Judging:

OO: “We are judged mainly by our equitation, or how pretty we look. Its a lot harder than it looks. We just have to be so self conscious of everything we do. We have to have our hair and make up done to look as pretty as we can.

3. Competition:

Joanne Kosanic: “We have 3 district competitions per season. We have a regional meet, which we won this year, and next we will move onto the state competition.”

4. Disciplines:

JK: “There are four different disciplines of riding. We compete western, hunt-seat, saddle-seat and gymkhana.

5. Cues:

OO: “There are different cues that your horse has. Like if you touch it on the left side it would ask it to canter. But some horses its not like that, you have to use more of your leg and push up with your seat and open your right leg. It just takes a while to get used to.”

6. Riders:

JK: “According to the size of your team, you get so many slots. It is up to me to decide which girls compete in which classes. Some kids get more classes than other kids. Some kids have more than one horse that compete in different disciplines. I might have one rider that does three or four classes with one horse, but then i might have another rider that has eight classes because they do four with one horse and four with another.