The Washington University Equestrian Club (WUET) is an intercollegiate equestrian club that offers opportunities to compete in both Hunt Seat and Western divisions of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). Our team consists of dedicated riders of all levels, from first-time riders to lifelong equestrians. Besides lessons and competing, we have lots of team bonding events and traditions, along with mixers and social events to meet other sports teams on campus! Our English and Western teams each attend 4-6 competitions per year. These take place on the weekends and are hosted by other schools within our region. The club is getting better every year, as we qualified the English team for zone championships in 2023 for the first time in school history and have had members qualify for IHSA Nationals the last few seasons.
We are excited for the team to come back together in the fall and to welcome new members before we begin the competition season. Most team members practice once a week in a group, taking turns driving or using WashU's Enterprise Carshare. Because competitions have a limit on how many people each team can enter, there is no guarantee that everyone will be able to attend each competition. The biggest factor we take into account is dedication to improvement in one's riding, and to the team as a whole. Just because you have no competition experience does not mean you will be any less valued by the team or any less likely to attend competitions! We need riders of every level to ensure that the team will be able to compete in each division and have the opportunity to earn as many points as possible.
We encourage you to come visit us at the activities fair if you are interested in learning more and joining the team. We can't wait to see you in the fall!
SKILL LEVEL: Competitive (no tryouts)
PRACTICE TIMES: Schedule dependent
PRACTICE LOCATION: Off-campus
LEADERSHIP: President; Vice-President
NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY: Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA: https://www.ihsainc.com)
TEAM WEBSITE: https://washuequestrian.wixsite.com/home
TEAM SOCIAL MEDIA: instagram @washuequestrian
CLUB DUES & PARTICIPANT EXPENSES: $5; Moderate*
*If you decide to take lessons, you must pay for a lesson package which is dependent on the barn. Riders can apply for financial aid if needed.
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT REQUIRED: Yes**
**If you decide to ONLY ride western, these barns provide helmets for riders, allow you to wear sneakers, and do not require you to wear breeches.
**If you decide to ride English, you are required to have your own helmet, paddock boots, or a hard sole boot with a small heel, and long pants/breeches.
SEASON: Fall and Spring (October - December & March - April)
ANNUAL COMPETITIONS: 4-6
HOW TO JOIN: Email washuequestrian@gmail.com OR message us on Instagram @washuequestrian
PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Qualified 2 riders for Regionals, 1 for zones, finished 4th overall (17-18)
#1 team in IHSA Zone 7 Region 5 (2021-2022)
First time qualifying for Zones as a team (2021-2022)
English team finished 3rd in region out of 17 teams; Western 9th (2022-2023)
4 English Regional Qualified, and 2 of them qualified for Zones (2022-2023)
1 English rider qualified for Nationals out of 10,000 riders and she placed 11th. (2022-2023)
1 English rider qualified for Nationals out of 10,000 riders and she placed 10th (2024-2025)
