The UA Equestrian Team is hosting an Elite Equitation Camp for girls 16 to 18 years old from Monday, June 23 to Friday, June 27. UA Equestrian Team coach Heather McCall also organizes the summer programs.

“The camp will be very intense from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m. doing riding lessons in the morning and doing either Pilates or some strength and conditioning classes in the afternoon, and we’ll be going over video reviews of their riding in the morning,” McCall said. “They’ll be working toward the end of the week doing a scrimmage and will be split up into two teams and assigned a pattern that they’ll have to compete on at the end of the week. It is a great example of how we compete in college.”

The girls attending camp will take part in the college experience by living in the residence halls, eating at campus dining halls and using the University Recreation Center for workouts and classes.

In July, McCall will be teaching weekly lessons to riders ages 12 and older.

“The public lessons will be hour-long lessons twice a week for three weeks. We will basically be divided up into different levels. There will be anywhere from five to eight people in the class,” she said. “We will just be working on, as a whole, everyone’s individual goals.

McCall wants to offer these lessons yearly, and she hopes they will be able to expand through the entirety of summer, from May to August. She said the programs were created not only to keep the University’s horses fit during the summer but also to grow Tuscaloosa’s local equestrian culture and to recruit riders.

“We are really excited to extend an opportunity to the public to be able to take riding lessons and ride with me as I coach this team. It is really a unique experience,” McCall said. “[For both the classes and the camp], we have campers signed up from across the nation.”

Kristi Payne, a University Relations writer, is an equestrian herself. She said she gives all the credit to McCall.

“A lot of people believe that equestrian programs can instill really solid qualities, especially in young girls working with horses,” Payne said. “It teaches you discipline and respect for other living beings. It can give people a really good outlet to interact with animals and come away with a lot of positive qualities from it.”

Some of the current students on the UA Equestrian Team are volunteering for the camp. Ashton Somers, a sophomore majoring in nursing, is a member of the team and will be working with the girls during the camp.

“The girls will basically experience what we experience as a team and as a college rider. They’ll do workouts and meet with a sports psychologist,” Somers said. “On Friday, we have a scrimmage. It’s like how we do our college shows. It gives [the girls] a great opportunity to get their name out there.”

McCall hopes this camp will help the UA Equestrian Team grow to include a western team in addition to the current hunt-seat team. She also hopes that one day the University will have its own facility.

Sign up is online, and registration is limited. Registration closes June 1. Some riding experience is required.

For more information visit alabamaequestrian.com and urec.sa.ua.edu/scequestrian.cfm.

(See also “UA eventing team provides home for equestrian sports“)