Following the Clemson club equestrian team’s first show, in which they finished as reserve champions, The Tiger spoke with the team’s fundraising chair, Lauren Nobles, about their success and the future of the team.
Luke Beard (LB): How did the team succeed as a whole this weekend?
Lauren Nobles (LN): We got reserve champion overall, so that means we got second place in our region, and all of our new girls learned a lot because it was our first show. One of our girls, it was her first show ever, so that was interesting, but we all did really good.
LB: What are the strongest events for the team this year?
LN: All of our girls did really good in their horsemanship classes; this is the first show, so everybody ended up fourth or up in their class or in their division. So that went really good, and then our reiner, she got second and third for the weekend, and our ranch classes also looked really good. Both of our girls placed.
LB: What went well last year that the team could build upon this year?
LN: Last year, we changed to this region. So, it was our second year in the region, so we were still getting used to the differences in the region, but this year, we kind of know the different schools that we’re competing against and know the horses and everything. That definitely will help us a lot. And last year, we ended up third overall in the region. So this year, we’re hoping to do a little bit better.
LB: What can the student body at Clemson do to help the equestrian team succeed in future events?
LN: Well, we have a bunch of fundraising opportunities coming up soon, so that’s definitely a thing that they can help with. We will be selling T-shirts and some other merchandise here soon and just supporting us on our social media.
LB: What are some of the fundraising opportunities that the equestrian team provides?
LN: We do proceeds nights at different restaurants. So we’re gonna do Groucho’s Deli, Texas Roadhouse, Chipotle, Your Pie and some other restaurants. And then we also sell some merchandise and T-shirts and that kind of stuff. And we’re trying to put on a show or something for the team, but the information for that hasn’t been released yet.
Interview responses were edited for length and clarity.
