Elli Yeager

Team travel. On the surface it seems glamorous. You get to miss school? You spend the weekend with friends and horses? Fantastic. But, behind the scene team travel can be physically and mentally exhausting and emotionally taxing. 

Planes , trains, cars, buses and long hours with no breaks, and we are expected to be on our game for 10 hour days. When we are not competing, we are cheering on teammates and remain constantly supportive through the whole event. It takes a great amount of mental determination to focus on earning my point against the other team’s rider while also helping ensure that the other riders on the team win their points as well. 

Then, there is the actual schoolwork. I am a student before I am an equestrian, and I have academic responsibilities. I must work ahead on assignments because there is no time to work at a three-day meet.  Even during “free time” we are expected to focus only on the meet and supporting our team. For three days most students can relax and recuperate for the school week ahead. Instead, my teammates and I get back late on Sunday night, having started our day at 5am. 

Finally, there is the question of whether “equestrian is really a sport.” Some teachers don’t respect the sport, believe it is hard or even a real sport, and will make it even harder to catch up on material from excused absences. Even students in my classes are judgemental about equestrian sports, in their eyes sports are football, basketball, baseball, hockey because it is all they have ever experienced. If I was a football player? Well, that is a debate for another blog. 

But what teachers and fellow students don’t realize is that not only do we have to try our best we also have to work with a 2,000 pound animal, and make it do what we want, we only have 2 minutes to figure out its “buttons” and win a point for the school. All student athletes work hard to represent the red and blue colors, “Go Mustangs, Pony Up!”

Disabilities or imperfections either make or break a person. Phil Hansen did it best when he followed the advice to “Embrace the Shake.” Those who have a “shake” in their lives can either use their limitation for inspiration or lose out to their limitation. The in-class videos this week taught us all a thing or two about what is possible. 

Hansen began his artistic journey using dots. Millions of little dots to make incredible pieces of art. But then his disability ended that dream. But instead of doing one of life’s u turns, he went around what life dealt him, and now he is world renowned for his creativity. He used a revolving wheel and words out of other people’s stories. He employed his hand to karate chop a canvas over and over to make the shape of a man practicing karate. And in “Goodbye Art,” he made a time lapse video in which he recreated an image of Jimi Hendrix using the red, black, and white tops of matches and then set it on fire in order to destroy art rather than create it. 

Imperfections appearance wise can also hurt us not through our own eyes but through the eyes of others, not being skinny enough, being too muscular, or having the wrong face shape. Misty Copeland was a victim of being told no in the ballet industry because she was too imperfect. Rather than backing down from the challenge she became one of the first black women to be represented by the American Ballet Center (ABT)- one out of three of the best ballet companies in the US!

The lesson today was more than just creative limitations pushing the boundaries of creativity or standing up against what is perceived as impossible, it was also an inspirational lesson for everyday life. When life throws challenges, the strong will find ways to use those challenges as strengths to accomplish more than what they originally dreamed.  And when we need to veer off the path we envisioned or take a right or left turn, our new direction might just lead us to a better destination. 

Flashing lights, people clapping and music blasting through the speakers. Each team walks into the stadium with their hype video playing on the jumbotron. Parents in the audience take videos and clap for their college athletes as each individual name is announced. Girls who have earned the title of “All American” proudly listen to their stats announced.  

What many people don’t realize is that Equestrian is a D-1 sport. We hit the gym, suffer injuries, and push ourselves to the limit everyday.  Equestrians start our days at 5:30 a.m., endure grueling training sessions, team meetings, wednesday night video reviews, and team bonding Thursdays. We are all shockingly competitive at dodgeball, probably because equestrians are used to competing individually. We spend late nights catching up on reading and often spring from the showers across campus to make it to classes on time. 

And while normal athletes only have to consider themselves, we also have live animals to take care of as our athletes. And make no mistake about it, horses are athletes also. They get chiropractic sessions, conditioning sessions, treated for injuries, warmed up and cooled down, and all the things an athlete needs in his or her or its program to stay on top.  So while many athletes have somewhat controlled environments when they compete in national championships, our hopes and dreams will include the behavior and mental state of an unfamiliar 1200 lbs animal that is drawn at random. 

Just like every other SMU athletic team we are Dallas’ team,  and we are proud to represent our school and show school pride. At the championships we will walk under the SMU flag wearing black “Dallas” leggings and white polos that sport the “Big D” logo.  The team parade at the  NCEA Championships is a matter of school pride. Last year we walked in after seven other teams, but this year we just might be walking in first.

This weekend I traveled back to school from the weekend in Wellington, and saw a space suit. It looked like a CDC episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Wow, I thought to myself, some people are still just as terrified of COVID as when it first began.  It made me wonder, what exactly is the new normal?  

Since the mask mandate has dropped students are able to make their own choices about their health and whether or not they want to wear a mask.  Students walk and bike across campus with their skin exposed to the elements, but indoors many students come to class with masks and others with nothing. A space suit seems extreme, but it caused me to question the perceptions of many of my fellow students when it comes to personal comfort level and COVID precautions.

For example, I have difficulty understanding why students will get in cars with friends and not mask up and go out to various nefarious indoor activities without a second thought of safety and still feel most comfortable masking up. I set out to explore the internet for answers, and actually ended up with some pretty good ones. 

Articles suggested that masks reduce anxiety, allowing people to create anonymity, which may be helpful to students who go to class to actually learn. Didn’t have time to shave? Put make-up on? No worries because a mask will cover that. People can hide their expressions behind a mask, the eyes of a person only say so much which makes it much harder for others to read a masked expression. A mask is a version of a shield; many students in today’s world have social anxiety when it comes to interacting with other students and this tool or mask could help them feel more confident. 

Masks have become accepted as part of the social norm. Teachers don’t judge, other students don’t judge, so it seems masks have become another article of clothing that we can choose to wear or choose not to wear. It’s a personal choice.  And who knows, next time I’m running across campus after a training session that ran late, I may just grab the “just in case mask” that I keep in the front pocket of my backpack. 

She is the best Christmas present I have ever gotten and she did not come in a shiny box with pretty red bows. Instead, she came in the form of a picture in an email. The subject line read female pup. The little crinkles on her ankles, long white nails, the big round loving eyes, fluffy white fur that made me want to reach out and touch the picture, and adorable spots on her button nose. I was in love. 

Even though I have not met her, I consider her one of the family. Every week I get new pictures of Cora. I have watched her coat darken and her learn to give kisses while being held in trainer arms. Her ankle rolls have disappeared, and now she had a look of wisdom on her young and curious face. Instead of being a blob of fur, a very cute blob of fur, she is developing muscle and wears a new look of intelligence on her face. She grows big and strong with her puppy friends. Her gold coat gleams in the sun and her ears are blown back by the wind as she chases imaginary friends. She is in full play mode, at a full sprint across the Mississippi acreage. In the most recent picture, I have of Cora she is sitting proudly in a boat. Her paw is up in the air, almost screaming, “hey look at me, I’m really cool!”

She makes me wonder what it feels like to be a puppy. To be strong and energetic and carefree. To enjoy nature and the simple things in life. To be free, like a toddler, in the young stages of their lives. Not a care in the world or time to waste, since everything is an adventure. Maybe when she finally comes home, she will help me remember what it is like to be a kid again. 

Ding! There it is. The text you have been not so patiently waiting for; the text that brings cheers all over campus. Class canceled. Let the party texts begin.

Once a year in Dallas there is a winter storm or as they call it a winter freeze. Classes are usually canceled and the whole city pretty much closes down to rejoice in the power of mother nature. Some people in cars or sedans try to brave the snow, and it is entertaining to watch them skid all over the road, causing more harm than good. Snow may be cold and slick, an annoyance for most adults, but for students snow is a gift from the gods.

Backpacks and books are traded for Lululemon leggings and puffer jackets. Students who have trucks pack them full of high-spirited friends, and drive every to various destinations around campus to take advantage of the sparkling white powder that coats the parking lots and blankets the trees. Outside, guys  line up in the bed of pick-up trucks to pull their friends around on hastily assembled boogie boards and tubing, and girls are huddled in groups walking to their friends’ dorms to play dye. 

My apartment transforms into a restaurant, since my friends have no other means to find sustenance.  I run back and forth to the kitchen, grabbing plates, and filling cups with hot cocoa as I look out the window to admire the beauty of the freshly painted city. Music plays in the background and everyone is bundled up on the couch and on the chairs in the blue and white blankets. Movies play in other rooms and board games are on other tables. The laughter and the clamor of voices echoes around the rooms reminding me of Christmas. 

The end of the day finishes like it began, everyone frantically looks at their phones, hoping for a second miracle, waiting to see if another snow day will begin.

This past year has been a whirlwind of emotion. Beating one of the hardest teams to beat at nationals, and then losing to the one that we should have easily defeated. My first semester was an adjustment period on the team. I was a fresh face, along with the rest of my freshman peers, and we were upstarts who had something to prove, if you asked any of the senior girls. 

The team did not mesh well and we had constant petty battles over small irrelevant things. We were not a team in a sport that is an individual sport outside the college arena. Last year was full of bumps, with a few bruises, some great moments and some low ones, but our inability to be a team hurt our performance. Great individual talent does not always make a great team, as I found out the hard way.  

Fast Forward a year later.  “SMU Equestrian #1” flashes in neon lights on the screen above the stage. “All I Do is Win” blares across the speakers and a group of girls is all smiles and laughter. We have figured out what it means to be a team. 

Right out of the gate, we had faced the hardest team to beat at their home. OSU has not been defeated at home since 2007. Draw time and it was a nightmare. We panicked as we saw the list. They put in their bad horses to attempt to trick us. Little did they know we had seen way worse as individuals, and now as a team we were able to sit down and come up with strategies together. We were SMU Equestrian trying to win for the team rather than a group of individuals trying to win for our own ego. 

Now we are on fire. We show up. We support each other. Rather than tearing the starters down, we lift them up. We are now 5-0 and number one in the country, a program first. “You got to want it to win it, and we want it more!”- go SMU Equestrian. 

Entangled in the sheets of my warm bed

I am motionless and sleep deprived

Outside the rain pours front the sky soaking the students walking by

Rain slaps

Wind howls

I open the app. 

Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Panera

A chai tea latte and a cinnamon crunch toast bagel with cream cheese 

The thought of warm coffee makes me sigh

Mouth watering

Eyes opening

I place my order. 

Lined up like frat pledges

Standing up to the highland parkers

Talking back to the pile of leaves

Flipping over

Crashing into 

Yet, you endure and stand ever at the ready. 

Down beaten paths and the roads less traveled

Dodging pedestrians and cars to get to me.

Announcing your arrival

Electric whining 

Tires bumping 

You always come bearing gifts. 

I see your arrival through the rain soaked glass

And open the door, shivering in anticipation

I send a single command- unlock!

Celebration song

Closing click 

Take your bow and retreat to the garage.

Starship robot, I love you.

Flag standing proudly at attention

At the ready to do my bidding

No complaints 

No opinions

Just, yes ma’am. 

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