With McMaster Equestrian, teamwork takes the reins

When Natalie Urton walks down the hall, she sometimes hears people reading out the team name on her McMaster Athletics backpack: “Equestrian? Do we have that?”  

We do, though a lot of people have never heard of the McMaster Equestrian Team, which is housed with other sports teams under Athletics & Recreation.  

“I’ve had a lot of surprised people,” says Urton, who is co-captain of the team. “But it’s always nice to get to explain the sport to them and have that conversation.”  

The team competes within the Ontario Collegiate Equestrian Association (OCEA) in hunter equitation classes. For the non-horse people, that’s a type of jumping that focuses on perfect harmony between horse and rider.  

For the McMaster equestrians, being on the team provides the opportunity to take on new challenges, be part of a tight-knit group, and continue riding during school.  

Catch riding 

Horseback riding can be prohibitively expensive at the best of times, let alone while in university. The OCEA runs with a “catch-riding” model specifically aimed at making the sport more affordable. With catch-riding, people compete on horses that they’re borrowing from host stables. It means that they don’t have to own or lease a horse to compete, significantly reducing costs.  

It also means you’re usually competing on a horse you’ve never met before. Co-captain Tessa Kahl describes catch-riding as “pretty much flying by the seat of your pants.”  

When you get to the show, you get a small description of the horse you’re going to ride from their owner.  You see it for the first time as someone warms it up — this is also when captains check out the horse to make sure it’s safe for you. 

Then you get a leg-up onto the horse and are led directly into the show ring. Only once you are in the show ring, being judged, are you allowed to pick up your reins, put your feet in your stirrups, and see if the horse is actually going to listen to you. And then you do a course of jumps together.  

It’s an interesting challenge for a sport where they’re evaluating you based on elegant partnership and the ability to look effortless.  

“There are definitely moments where you’re like, wow, do I actually really know how to ride a horse?” Kahl said. “Do I actually have any technical knowledge or am I just kind of here?” 

Catch-riding doesn’t happen on a lot of other show circuits, Urton notes. “But it is a super fun experience, and as you get further and further into the season you see a lot of development and growth in all of the riders,” she said. 

Stepping up

The team has 22 riders, from all faculties and different programs, and with different levels of riding ability and show experience. Some people have shown for years, and compete in the open division (the most advanced in the OCEA).  

Some are showing for the first time, competing at the entry level.  

“You see them gaining more and more confidence on different types of horses, and they really get to test their ability to adapt in those different circumstances,” Urton said.  

McMaster, which competes in the Central Zone of the OCEA against Brock University, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto, and Durham College and Ontario Tech, participates in five shows a year, plus finals. Each school takes a turn hosting, which includes helping handle horses, get riders ready on time, and make sure the show is running quickly and smoothly. It’s also a great way for them to meet riders and make friends from other schools: Urton and Kahl are both regularly asked to lend a hand at shows run by other schools within the OCEA.  

“Stepping into leadership roles on the team has been super significant to me,” said Urton. “I’ve made some really great friends on the team, and it’s been a great community to have.”  

The OCEA wraps up their season with finals, held this year in nearby Ancaster at the end of March. All qualifying riders from OCEA competing schools – 21 colleges and universities across Ontario and Quebec – will compete.   

While not all their riders will qualify, McMaster’s equestrian team encourages as many members to go as possible. McMaster has been a part of the OCEA since 2007, and over the years, its teams have become known for their enthusiastic presence at shows: cheering each other on at the in-gate and making up new custom chants at each event. At last year’s OCEA finals, they won the overall Spirit Award.  

Finding connection and moments of calm

Beyond the shows, the team hangs out regularly through special events, like bowling, pumpkin painting and puppy yoga, as well as weekly HPA workouts and riding lessons, run out of Vector Equestrian.  

The riding lessons, and connecting with like-minded horse friends, are a highlight for many. “It’s so nice to be able to leave school and put it out of your mind for two hours,” said Alyssa Basilio, president of the team. “It’s relieving.”    

Lessons, shows and finals are always fun. But Kahl’s favourite day of year is media day.  

“We do photos at McMaster and we’re dressed in our show clothes. So the beige pants, the coats, and the collared shirts,” she said. “You get people who are like, are you on the fencing team? Why are you here?”  

“And I’ll be like, no, we ride horses.”