THOUSAND WORDS: HORSING AROUND

Mitchell Kraus In a couple of hours, near the crack of dawn, they reach their destination. Far from the WaWas and the streetlights, the members of the Penn Equestrian team unload their cars and prepare themselves for the long day ahead. On this particular Sunday at the Rutgers Horse Show in central New Jersey, Co-captains Isolde Baylor and Shannon Hendrick register the team and then come back to hold a team meeting. Each member is told when they are going to show in one or both of the two events: on the flat and over the fence. Then what is one of the most difficult parts of the day begins -- each member needs to find a complete set of clothing to wear for their turn to ride. Each rider needs an approved helmet, jacket, shirt, britches, pair of boots and gloves in order to ride. The men wear a shirt and tie. The women need to wear a ratcatcher shirt and stockpin. Any long hair should be put up in a hairnet under the helmet and boots should be shined and the rest of the clothes need to be neat. No points are taken off for disobeying the dress code, but riders say that an unprofessional appearance makes judges feel they are riding unprofessionally. Not everyone has all their own equipment, so before the show starts, the co-captains try to figure out who has extra equipment, match the equipment with riders who fit into it, and decide if there will be enough time in between events to exchange equipment. Minutes after everybody gets their outfits worked out, the show begins. On the flat, riders, depending on their level must trot, canter, and reverse. Riders jump fences that are between two and three feet high. All riders use the host team horses and are judged on their own riding ability, not the horses'. They compete in groups of five to fifteen in levels ranging from novice to advanced. Ribbons are given out to the top seven finishers. When the last Penn team member finishes riding in the last event of the day, the drive back to the big city begins. Most come back happy with their performances, but more than anything else, most are ready to go back to sleep.

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