You have probably seen the many posters that adorn the halls of the school advertising the Lincoln High School equestrian team, but you may not know what it entails. What are the deep mysteries of this horsemanship focused sport?

Equestrians ride horseback and compete in a variety of events that include performances, races and jumping horses. The Lincoln High School equestrian team participates in events run by the Oregon High School Equestrian Team (OHSET).

Practice starts in December and extends into March. So far, the team consists of three members, but it is not too late to register for those who are interested.

“Our season has not started yet. You can even late register up until Jan. 1,” said Olive Trump, a class of 2018 Lincoln alum. She is a former equestrian team member and current coach of the team.

Like many sports, the equestrian team lost many members during COVID and were unable to compete during quarantine, but this year Trump’s goal is to reinvigorate the program.

“The last four years [the team was] down to five people or less, but we’re trying to build it back up. We’re bringing it back to life,” said Trump.

If a school’s team is too small, they may be combined with another school’s team. 

“When schools don’t have a team, we can “co-op” with them and they can join us. So this year we have two Lincoln students and one from Benson,” said Trump.

Unfortunately if you don’t own a horse, you cannot participate, but there are options available to students who are interested in participating.

“The tricky thing about this program is that you do have to have access to your own horse or you have to somehow have an agreement worked out, but that’s not part of our job to arrange,” said Trump.

Fortunately, their website does contain recommendations on finding a horse.

The website instructs students to “reach out to the barn where they have taken lessons or ask the trainers and owners at their home barn” to find a horse.

To allow time for bonding between teammates and horses the team meets every second Sunday. 

“Practices are two hours long, but that doesn’t include the time students need to take care of their horses, so we probably end up spending about three hours together every other Sunday,” said Trump. 

In competition, Trump enjoys steer dobbing, which is essentially racing a cow on horseback. This is among a wide variety of events that riders could participate in

“You have barrels, pole bending and rodeo events. And then you also have jumping, or western performance events [which] are about technique,” said Trump.

And for those wondering, the horses do have names. Trump’s competition she won many events with was named Lynx.

“He just won everything,” said Trump.