Equestrian team wins back-to-back state championships
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
If there’s one thing the members of the East Troy Equestrian Club wants people to know it’s that what they do is much harder than it looks. They practice 5-6 six days a week; take private lessons and have the added responsibility of caring for their horses.
“It takes a lot of prep work,” says senior Nichole Zazula. “People think we just hop on our horses and just do it.”
“When we arrive at a competition it’s with six large trailers filled with equipment,” adds Stefanie Adams, who is a head coach with Jennifer Donnelly. “The girls have to haul all that plus water buckets and hay.”
And it doesn’t stop there. It’s up to the girls to care for their animals year round, not just during competition season.
“You have to watch out for yourself and your horse,” says senior Alicia Neubauer.
All that dedication and hard work has paid off for the team. For the second year in a row, the Equestrian Team has brought home the Wisconsin Interscholastic Horsemanship Association Division B state title.
“The East Troy High School girls were the lead scorers at state,” says Donnelly. “They had the most points of any team, taking first or second in 14 of the 18 events.”
According to the coaches, if the team had one more member, it could have competed in Division A, and the points the girls racked up (253) would have given them the title in that division.
Quite a feat for such a young team. It was only four years ago that Donnelly and Adams started up the Equestrian Club at the High School.
“We had the makings of the team and decided to commit to it,” says Adams. “Most of the kids we teach (at Valley View Stables) were ready for it, so it was time to represent their high school.”
“We knew the founders of the WIHA,” adds Donnelly. “He approached us about being coaches.”
The first year they were third in the district. The following year they took second in the district, advancing to the state tourney where they placed third. Last year, they won the district and state titles and repeated that success this year.
The coaches say it takes a lot of planning throughout the season and sometimes, difficult decision making as to who rides when.
“We have a very strong group of athletes,” says Donnelly. “We strategize as to where the riders go to get the best points.”
In the end, however, it’s the team spirit and love of what they do that leads them to success.
“We’re like a family,” says senior Karlee Schroeder. “We click a lot. We all laugh and make fun of each other and have a really good time.”
All three seniors on the team – Neubauer, Schoreder and Zazula – live outside the School District and chose to come to East Troy High School through the Open Enrollment program because of the Equestrian Team.
“It’s very exciting to be back-to-back champions with all the hard work that goes into it,” says Zazula. “It’s exciting to see how we’ve progressed over the last four years.”
The East Troy team competes in all the WIHA events throughout the season: Kayla Bradford – Reinsmanship; Hannah Bucholz – Poles, Barrels, Keyhole, Two-Person Relay; Anna Foley – Discipline Rail, Hunt Seat Bareback, Saddleseat Bareback, Saddleseat, Equitation, Western Bareback, Barrels, Two-Person Relay; Megan Griffin – Discipline Rail, Trail; Mitchell Jrolf – Poles, Barrels, Speed and Action, Keyhole, Two-Person Relay; Alicia Neubauer – Hunter Hack Equitation, Speed and Action, Two-Person Relay; Taylor Pogue – Western Showmanship, Huntseat Showmanship, Discipline Rail, Huntseat Bareback, Western Horsemanship, Western Bareback, Two-Person Relay; Shannon Pogreba – Poles, barrels, Speed and Action, Keyhole and Two-Person Relay; Karlee Schroeder – Western Showmanship, Hunt Seat Showmanship, Western Horsemanship, Hunt seat Equitation; and Nichole Zazula – Western Showmanship, Saddleseat Showmanship, Hunt Seat Showmanship, Hunt Seat Equitation, Western Horsemanship, Western Bareback.
The Equestrian Team practices at Valley View Stables in East Troy. For more information, visit www.valleyviewstables.net.
