The stables smell like the wild west. Intrigue hangs heavy in the air, right next to the bugs that are buzzing from place to place. Trotting is heard off in the distance, and then there they are-the horses.

Kandi Lane, the coach for the Eastern Equestrian Club, said she has dedicated her life to horses.

“It’s a wonderful bonding experience between another creature that when the two of you click, and work as one, there’s just something about horses, they’ve just always been my passion forever,” she said.

Within 40 years, Lane said she has not only ridden and shown horses, but also bred them, trained them and taught lessons to beginners as well as experts.

Lane works at the Reinin’ Lane Ranch in Toledo, which is approximately 45 minutes away from campus.

After realizing Eastern did not have an equestrian club, Lane said she started the club three years ago.

Lane got in contact with Pat Fewell, a secondary education professor at Eastern, who rode horses at her ranch. The two of them worked together to make the equestrian club a reality.

“I’ve had a good time with it,” Emily Schrock, president of the club, said. “It’s a really fun activity. I wish more people would get involved.”

The senior biology major has been in the club since the beginning. She said one of her favorite parts of the club is the competitions, or “shows.”

These shows, sponsored by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, or IHSA, are all about the rider’s horsemanship.

The rider has to compete with a horse they have never ridden before, and the judges give awards to those who can excel.

“It’s more of you (showing) off your riding skills,” Schrock said. “Showing for me is a nice challenge because you’re riding different horses so you get something different every time.”

While equestrian club members have placed in competitions, no one has made it to regionals yet. Lane thinks it’s because the club is so young and new.

This fall, the Eastern Equestrian Club will be co-hosting its very first show with the University of Illinois on October 23 at the Gordyville USA Ranch in Rantoul.

“That is going to be a huge deal,” Lane said. “The host school has to provide the horses for the competition.”

In the Gordyville USA competition more than 18 schools will be coming to compete.

Although the equestrian club is based around competing and practicing for competitions, the club does have members who decide not to compete, and are only in the club because of their love of horses.

Each month, the club usually has one meeting on campus to discuss business and fundraising, and one meeting where they carpool to the Reinin’ Lane Ranch to work with Lane in group or individual lessons.

Lane said she is willing to help anyone of any age to learn how to ride a horse. She said she can give people lessons free of charge, but only if they help clean the barn, brush the horses and do other odds and ends to pay it off.

A regular lesson is typically between $10 and $20, depending if it is an individual or group lesson.

Fewell, the equestrian club advisor, said even if students have never ridden a horse before, they are more than welcome to join the club to learn how to ride.

“I have a very good friend (that says) ‘the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a person’,” she said. “I really believe it. The students, it’s a way of having some relaxation.”

Sam Sottosanto can be reached at 581-7942 or deneic@gmail.com

A few members from the equestrian club wear cowboy hats. In the back from left to right is Jenny Heinemann, then Coach Kandi Lane, and Coach Jake Lane. In front from left to right is Gina Muratori, Emily Schrock, and Kyle Prouse. (Submitted Photo

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