Students with a passion for horseback riding came together Wednesday night for the first Eastern Equestrian Club meeting of the semester.

Emily Schrock, the equestrian club president, said the club’s goal was to teach their members more about horses.

“If you don’t know how to ride or if you would like to learn how to ride or just learn more about horses you can come in and join our club,” Schrock said.

At the first meeting everyone in attendance took part in the nomination of new officers.

“Every fall semester we are required to elect new leaders,” Schrock said. “The reason we do so is that if one of these leaders happens to leave school and cannot fulfill the term we will elect new officers to take the position.”

The leaders of the Equestrian Club include Schrock as president, Jennifer Heinemann as vice president, Julie Berls as treasurer and Christine Komis as secretary.

Heinemann, a junior elementary and special education major, is responsible for fundraising, event planning and publicity for the club as vice president.

“I have been busy lately just getting the word out there about our club and letting people know what it’s all about,” Heinemann said. “This year we had a booth at Pantherpalooza and there seemed to be a lot of interest in the club.”

The Equestrian Club meets the first Wednesday of every month in the Martinsville Room at 7:30 p.m. and the third Wednesday of every month at the Reinin’ Lane Ranch where members can ride horses and get riding lessons from their riding coaches, Kandi and Jake Lane.

“The coaches are required to come to our shows and help out beforehand and guide us through the show,” Heinemann said. “The shows are set up where you pick out of a hat before the show that you’re riding in and it’s posted on what horse you have, you get on the horse and go in.”

Heinemann said since every rider will be matched with a horse they are unfamiliar with, the judging in these competitions is not based on horse obedience but on other criteria.

“The judges look for, first off if you stand out from your first step walking into that arena,” said Heinemann. “That can be your posture as well as having a smile on your face down to the outfit that you’re wearing.

Other criteria that riders will be judged upon gauge how good of a rider they are and how they handle the horse they are given. Schrock said that members of the Equestrian Club compete in around 10 riding competitions each year against other colleges.

The club is part of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and is co-hosting a show with the University of Illinois at 8 a.m. on Oct. 23 at Gordyville USA in Gifford, Illinois. Heinemann encourages new members to come out and join the club no matter what their skill level for riding is.

“The club has members of every skill level, from if you’ve never ridden a horse before to if you’ve been doing high competitive shows since you were a kid,” said Heinemann. “We had a few people come out to the club last year and it was their first time riding a horse.”

Heinemann said the club isn’t just for showing horses, but members often get together for social events like barbeques, campfires and connect on their general passion for horses and riding.

“I’ve met a lot of people from different areas of Illinois that are all really sincere and unique from being in this club,” Heinemann said. “I feel like a lot of horse people are very down to earth.”

Members also get a chance to travel when their teams compete in the IHSA shows, which are funded through fundraising and general club fees.

“The fees are really cheap, around $10 a semester,” Berls said. “We use this money towards getting involved in the competitions and also for hotel accommodations when we travel to the shows.”

The Equestrian Club’s first horse show will be on Oct. 16 at Saint Mary of the Wood’s College in Terre Haute, Ind.

Megan Tkacy can be reached at 581-7942 or metkacy@eiu.edu