Running head: ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

The Role The University of Kentucky Dressage Team Plays On Campus

Aime Collins
University of Kentucky

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

Abstract: This essay talks about the University of Kentuckys Dressage Team and the importance
of why they should be recognized by the school as an NCAA team. It covers the reasons why
they should be, such as their hardworking motivation and that they need help with funding the
teams efforts. The team would benefit from a new coach and the only way to be able to afford a
good one is to become a NCAA team. The school would benefit as well from this change. They
would have more talented riders applying to the school for a chance to make the team, and they
would also give credit to the work equestrians put into their sport.

The Role The University of Kentucky Dressage Team Plays On Campus

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

Although there are many clubs and cultures on the University of Kentucky campus, one
seems to stand out among the rest. The University of
Kentucky Dressage Team is a close knit group of girls with
the same love of horses. The team was founded in 2005 and

P.1 Rider Allison Wilaby riding a

Morehead State horse at Nationals
2008 (Equine Programs, 2015).

since then has been successful in competitions (Spickard, S., 2014). In April of 2008, member
Allison Wilaby (see P.1) was the first to win champion at the IDAs (Intercollegiate Dressage
Association) Nationals (Equine Programs, 2015). The main goal of the team is to allow students
to compete and support each other at local shows and events, and provides a social network for
students interested in each discipline of riding, (Equine Programs, 2015). There are currently
forty-eight members on the team. The team as a whole competes frequently and places well,
however they find difficulties regarding their trainer. Even though they place well during
competitions, practices have proven to be unenjoyable and the girls claim they do not learn much
from them. The moral between the members of the team is
very strong, and all the girls tend to get along. Due to the
accomplishments of the University of Kentucky Dressage
team, they should be recognized as an NCAA team instead
of a club team.
The University of Kentuckys Dressage team is hardworking and focused. They
consistently put out wins for both the school and individually. The team is currently ranked third
in the region and within the next few shows, hopes to be in the top two (Yowaiski, personal
communication, Feb. 24, 2015). If they succeed, they will qualify for zones and then, hopefully

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

4
after that, nationals. Hollis Glowniak, a freshman

P.2 The UKDT after their show when they

won the High Point Team of the day this
season (Spickard, 2015).

on the team said, All of the teams are super hard

working, but we always go the extra mile to be

prepared for our competitions. I think thats why weve been pretty successful during this
season, (Glowniak, personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). Michaela Yowaiski, another
freshman, explained how the competitions were held. During the interview I had with her, she
went on to explain that the show has four levels of divisions. The first level being the lowest
difficulty and the fourth being the highest. She said the riders are given a pattern they have to
memorize in the beginning of the day (personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). After they learn
it, they draw a horses name out of a hat. Whatever name they pull is the horse they have to
compete on. Most of the time, riders will draw a horse theyve never ridden before. The purpose
of this is to show the judge that no matter what horse the team member draws, they will be able
to use their prior riding abilities to handle any horse. The riders are allowed to warmup for two
minuets to get acquainted with the horse before they begin getting scored. Once, in the
competition arena, the riders carry out their pattern to the best of their ability and are scored
immediately following the class. The riders are scored based on their position on the horse, their
ability to memorize the pattern, and the difficulty of the horse they draw. They are then ranked
first through sixth and gain points for their team. First place is seven points, second is five, third
is four and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the competition is the High Point
Team of the day (Glowniak, personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). The University of
Kentuckys team has won one out of the three shows they attended thus far in the season. They
expect to win twice more before they attend zones.

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

5
The head coach of the team is Emily Hamel.
She and her farm, Valley View Equestrian, are
located in Midway, Kentucky (OBrien, A.,
2013). Although Hamel has many years of
experience in both dressage and eventing, her

students dont feel like they learn anything at the practices (Hollis & Michaela, 2015). They feel
like they cant talk to her because she gives off a harsh vibe, (Yowaiski, personal
communication, Feb 24, 2015). She is just super intimidating. I feel like I can't ask her
anything without being looked at like an idiot, (Yowaiski, personal communication, Feb 24,
2015). When asked if they would consider their coach a role model, both of the girls laughed.
They said they couldnt consider her a role model when she was so disinterested in the team.
We seem to be at the bottom of the totem pole, and its just frustrating, (Yowaiski, personal
communication, Feb 24, 2015). Hamel has failed to show up to any of the competitions so far
this season. Coaches are required to attend the competitions to assure the safety of their team
members and their horses, however, Hamel seems to think her clients are more important than
the team (Paulsen). This brings down the moral of the team dramatically. The riders want their
trainer to be there and make her proud, but Hamel doesn't seem to care about the feelings of her
team members.
Because their coach doesnt put the teams needs first, the riders struggle to learn in their
lessons. They are willing to learn new skills, but their trainer is more concerned about pleasing
her clients and their boarded horses. Every member on the team gets eight lessons per semester
(Glowniak, personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). They are able to schedule their lessons

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

themselves to work within their classes. The members don't find it difficult to attend all the
lessons, but they don't learn anything from them. Hollis Glowniak said, I really think the
lessons are just to have lessons. They're not meant to be learned from, its just an opportunity to
ride a horse before a competition, (2015). Even though the girls dont learn much from them,
they find the lessons enjoyable. The lessons are private and the riders get a chance to ride every
horse in the lesson program (Yowaiski, personal communication, Feb 24, 2014). Hollis says she
enjoys the challenge of figuring out a strange horse or dealing with a difficult one (personal
communication, Feb 24, 2015). She also says while she enjoys riding her own horse, she finds it
easier to discover her flaws while riding different ones (Glowniak, personal communication, Feb
24, 2015). This helps her figure out how to fix problems and make her better in competition.
Once the riders have ridden all the horses in the lesson program, they get the chance to ride them
again. Hollis and Michaela claim all the girls on the team attend their lessons regularly,
however, some might enjoy them more than others. The general attitude of the teammates
towards lessons is positive and the riders try their best to learn from their coach.
As mentioned before, the mentality of the team as a whole is usually positive. The girls
get along with each other and love to cheer each other on. Michaela mentioned in her interview
with me that, its fun to watch everyone improve as the year goes on. We all have the same goal:
to qualify for regionals, zones, and hopefully nationals, (Yowaiski, personal communication,
Feb 24, 2015). Most of the riders enjoy being on the team, however, there is some bitterness
towards going to practices. Since the practices are uneventful and don't teach the girls any new
skills, some team members dont enjoy going to them. These members make it known that they
don't enjoy being there and it brings the moral of the group down (Glowniak, personal

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

communication, Feb 24, 2015). Another instance where the team feels negativity is during
competitions. The shows take place generally during the winter so its very cold when the riders
are competing (see P.3). If this wasnt bad enough, the team members have to hold horses in the
warmup ring all day for other riders to use. Standing in the cold for hours on end with large
livestock animals could make anyone have a sour attitude. The girls don't like feeling obligated
to stay for the entire day when they only ride for two to four minuets. The team requires riders
of all abilities to compete at every level of the IDA shows (Yowaiski, personal communication,
Feb 24, 2015). This is because the team needs points from every class the show has. This is the
best way to get the most amount of points and win the competition. Therefore, the team doesnt
just have all riders that compete at the highest level at nationally ranked shows or all riders from
back yard barns that have never shown before. It seems to be the perfect balance of ability and
skill. The members of the team aren't in any other clubs besides the team. There are a few girls
in sororities but they find it easy to schedule lessons around sorority events. They tend to run
into trouble when the competitions fall on days that have events. Generally the girls put their
sorority before the team, so if there is an event on the day of the show, the girls will most likely
bail on the team to attend (Yowaiski, personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). Other than those
girls, the team members usually don't ditch a practice or competition unless there is an important
reason to. The girls are all generally involved in the team and its fundraising events. They are
also very close as friends. They regularly plan get togethers for them to eat out, have movie
nights, and most recently, play laser tag (Glowniak, personal communication, Feb 24, 2015).
Its nice to just get away from the obligations of the team and the stress of school sometimes,
and go hang out with a bunch of friends and just talk horse for a few hours, stated Hollis during

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

an interview (personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). The team doesnt have these nights very
frequently because it can be difficult for the girls to
schedule around their school work and even getting
rides to the places they want to meet.

P.3 The show grounds of the zones

competition in the 2014 season. The
weather was warmer because it was
held in April 2014 (Spickard, 2015).

The University of Kentucky does not recognize

the Dressage team as an actual team, nor does it
recognize it as a club. This leads to a major problem:
the university will not fund the group (Spickard, S.,
2014). To combat the lack of funds, the Dressage team holds fundraisers frequently. These
events range from McAllister nights where part of the money earned by McAllisters goes to the
team to large events held at the Rolex (Spickard, S., 2014). Small fundraisers like the McAllister
nights allow the team to earn money in a short amount of time. The nights are planned two
weeks in advance so the team can broadcast it to their friends, family, and the campus as a
whole. The restaurant hosting the event will delegate a span of four to five hours to the team to
get the money. The team has to invite people to the restaurant at that time to eat. Usually about
twenty percent of the revenue will go to the team. These events are frequent because they do not
raise very much money for the team. The large fundraiser brings in the most money for the
team. Because the team is based out of Lexington, Kentucky, there is easy access to the Rolex
Stadium. The team volunteers at the stadium to earn money for the IDA horse show they host
every February (Glowniak, personal communication, Feb 24, 2015). All the money the riders
earn from volunteering goes to the show. Without any of the eat-out nights or volunteering at the
Rolex, there would be no way the Dressage Team would be able to host a show, let alone support
the team.

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

Ultimately, the University of Kentucky Dressage Team should be recognized and treated
like a team affiliated with the school, not just a club. The University does not seem to
understand the importance this team has for UK. All of the riding clubs on campus should get
the same recognition any NCAA sport has. Other schools such as the University of Georgia,
Clemson University, Auburn University, Texas A&M, and even the University of Louisville have
NCAA equestrian teams. These teams are sponsored by companies within the equine industry
and are recognized by their schools as a team sport; not a club sport. If the University of
Kentucky can recognize and promote the football team, especially in seasons when the team was
terrible, then they can promote one of their teams that is succeeding and is ranked very well in
the nation as a whole. Its very frustrating that this group of girls has to work so hard just to be
able to support their team and earn enough money to scrape by. They joined the team hoping to
broaden their skills and rediscover their passion for horse back riding and they get stuck with a
trainer that couldn't care less about their wants or needs. If the team was NCAA recognized, they
would be able to afford the show they work so hard to put on and probably get an awesome
coach instead of one who cant even show up to the competitions. Dressage riding is in the
Olympics. Football and basketball, the two most popular sports at the University of Kentucky,
are not. Dressage isnt just about riding a horse and winning a ribbon. Its about being able to
communicate with an animal that cant speak the same language and still being able to create a
beautiful dance. Non-horse people might not understand how difficult it is to convince a
twelve hundred pound animal to execute precise movements by just using small cues from the
rider. This is the same for any horse back riding discipline. Its the same difficulty for a dressage
rider to ask a horse to pirouette as a jumper rider to ask their horse to jump a six foot jump.

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

10

Other more main stream team sports rely on their fellow teammates and a ball. The players can
easily communicate with one another by speaking and an inanimate object to toss around. This
object doesnt have a mind of its own and it definitely wont try and kick or bite you if you upset
it. Equestrians are in a league all their own and the sooner the school figures that out, the sooner
more exceptional riders will flock here to be a part of the team. Many of the girls on the
Dressage team now are not sure that they want to join the team again mainly because they don't
get much out of it. If more and more girls stop trying out, there aren't going to be enough riders
to even have a team at all. If the team finally has to shut down, the University will find less
equestrians will apply to the school. Many of the girls I spoke to came to the University of
Kentucky to be a part of the team, any of the teams actually. Essentially, the school needs to step
up the status of the riding teams, and finally give equestrians the credit they deserve.

References

ROLE OF UK DRESSAGE TEAM

11

Equine Programs. (2015). UK equestrian teams. Equine Programs. Retrieved March 5, 2015,
from http://equine.ca.uky.edu/studenthub/dressage
Glowniak, H. (2015, February 24). In the Tack [Personal interview].
O'Brien, A. (2013). UKDET. Collegiate Forum. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
Paulsen, L. (2013). University of Kentucky dressage successes. Practical Horseman. Retrieved
March 5, 2015, from http://www.collegeeventingsource.com/#!
schoolprofiles/c127r
Spickard, S. (2014). Collegiate Eventing Spotlight: University of Kentucky - Eventing
Nation - Three-Day Eventing News, Results, Videos, and Commentary. Horse
Illustrated.
eventing-

Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://eventingnation.com/home/collegiatespotlight-university-of-kentucky/

Yowaiski, M. (2015, February 24). From the Rider's View [Personal interview].