Wesleyan drops bombshell, cutting successful equestrian program

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Back in December, Wesleyan College raised eyebrows with the highly unexpected announcement that the school was starting an ice hockey team.

          It’s raising even more eyebrows with a sport it’s canceling, only a few months later.

          Barely six months after introducing Alex Arute-Kacheris as the new head of the equestrian program, Wesleyan is killing that program.

          WMGT-TV 41-NBC reported Wednesday night that the school was looking for a lessee/operator for the Nancy Ellis Knox Equestrian Center, which includes a riding ring, stables for 30 horses and 40 acres of wooded trails.

          “Our goal is to find an operator who can use the space for its intended purpose,” spokesman Michael Tarr told the station. “We know finding the right operator will take some time. Because of this, we won’t be fielding an Equestrian team for the forseeable future.”

          Social media posts indicated the team members were told on Wednesday, inspiring a reaction of shock and sadness on Facebook from supporters, alumnae, and team members.

          The college’s new beach volleyball team made its debut last month.

The Next College Student Athlete website that contains recruiting and scholarship information states there are 112 women’s hockey programs in the NCAA and NAIA.

Nearly all are in the Northeast and Midwest, none are in the South.

The American Collegiate Hockey Association oversees 64 women’s club hockey teams.

          There are 28 members of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association, made up of NCAA Division I, II, and III schools, including Auburn, Berry, Charleston, Georgia and South Carolina, Arute-Kacheris’ alma mater.

          Savannah College of Art & Design also has a program, according to scholarshipstats.com.

          Across three NCAA levels and the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association nearly 80 colleges have equestrian programs with almost 2,100 athletes. The NCEA is the4 governing body.

          Wesleyan, with an enrollment of about 530 students, will be part of College Hockey South, a non-profit club/non-varsity organization with 50 teams and 30 schools. Of the 10 current women’s teams, six are SEC schools, along with Georgia Southern, Miami, South Florida, and Division II Tampa.

          Wesleyan’s roster, as of Wednesday night, lists 10 competitors.

          The equestrian page on Wesleyan’s athletics website is as outdated as most other pages on the website. It lists no results from a season that started in October and has 20 days of competitions, and hasn’t posted a story or update since November.

          But an athletics Facebook post on March 24 reports the program won its second reserve championship of the season and will participate in the dressage national finals later this month.

          Another post in November noted a “strong finish” and “career-best performances and standout results” at an IDA Dressage competition.

          A December story online on The Plaid Horse noted that two of the 10 riders had never ridden a horse until joining the team, and four others had never competed.

          There was no indication in the story that the program, which started in the 1920s, was on life support.

          Wesleyan also sponsors basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball, and is a member of the NCAA Division III Collegiate Conference of the South.