Oct. 22, 2004

By Kelly Olson Kansas State Collegian

Manhattan, KS (U-WIRE) -- This weekend, several student-athletes will travel hundreds of miles to handle animals almost 12 times their weight.

The English squad of the K-State equestrian team is on the road this weekend to participate in the Northern Illinois Hunt Show on Saturday and Sunday in Chicago.

The show will be the season opener for the English squad. The Western squad had their season debut Oct. 9 at home, as they hosted the K-State Western Show and captured first place.

One of the two captains for the English team, senior Christy Conforti, said she predicts the team will do very well.

"I think the team is pretty well-prepared. Our coach has really been cracking down on us and making us realize how important this show will be and how our competition has gotten a lot harder and better," Conforti said.

K-State is a member of Zone 9, Region 2, along with nine other teams.

Conforti said K-State definitely has an advantage being the only varsity team in their region. The other teams are all club sports.

"Without K-State, a lot of people would not be able to do this sport in college," Conforti said. "We are really lucky to have the school pay for travel fees, rooms, entry fees and other expenses."

The Wildcats prepare by having two, one-hour practices a week where they focus on strengthening their skills.

Senior Dehlia Burdan, the other English captain, said the team will be good this year because some vital spots were filled by newcomers.

"I think they will really pull through for us this weekend. I think this weekend will be good," Burdan said.

Equestrian is the newest sport to K-State, as it is only in its fifth year at the varsity level

"I think that it's such a new and different sport that I think it would be neat if a lot of people came to get involved," Burdan said.

Meghan Cunningham, assistant coach of the team and coach of the English squad, agreed with Burdan that people do sometimes have misconceptions of the sport and would like more people to come to the shows, as well.

"People overlook the fact that the horses are athletes as well as the students," Cunningham said. "They should appreciate the fact of how hard it really is to ride a horse over a course of eight fences at three-foot height that you have never ridden before."

Cunningham said the team should do well this weekend, especially with six returning members out of seven who participated on the national team two years ago.

(C) 2004 Kansas State Collegian via U-WIRE