PENINSULA’S EQUESTRIAN TEAM DISBANDS
Starting this school year, Peninsula’s equestrian team has disbanded. The district made the decision to disband the equestrian teams at both Peninsula and Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) earlier in 2018 due to fears concerning safety and liability after a horseback rider at PVHS fell off her horse and suffered from a concussion. Overall, the team feels that it was unfortunate that they had to disband, particularly because the school was not heavily involved in the team’s affairs to begin with. Each rider covered her own finances and paid for lessons with private trainers without any funding from the school. Because of this, the team believes that the district did not have the right to make such a large decision regarding the team. Despite their disappointment, team members took no action against the district regarding the disbandment because they plan to continue to ride outside of school individually. However, the team was still surprised and confused by the district’s actions.
“It was our choice to go horseback riding,” junior Nina Hietala said. “I did not see any reason why the district chose to do what they did. It was so out of the blue.”
Hietala had been on the team since her freshman year of high school. She especially enjoyed the environment and sense of community that the school’s equestrian team provided for her and her teammates.
“Everyone checked up on each other and looked after one another,” Hietala said. “It was a pretty small, tight-knit group, which you [do not] really see at [Peninsula] often.”
Junior Olivia Gray, who joined the team in her freshman year, has developed a strong connection with the sport, the team and the animals. She does not plan to let the district’s decision to disband the team prevent her from continuing to pursue her love for horseback riding. Gray strongly disagrees with the disbandment and believes that it is unjust because many other sports such as football and baseball allowed at Peninsula are just as, if not more, dangerous.
“This makes absolutely no sense because we practice off campus and do not interact with the school at all during training,” Gray said. “[Other sports] are just as dangerous. Horseback riding is different because besides finding success through hard work in this sport, you can also find friendship. I can truly say my horse is my best friend, and I doubt anything will ever change that.”
Junior Mishal Syed expressed her displeasure with the team’s disbandment because she felt that it took away her opportunity to pursue her passion in a competitive setting.
“[I am] unhappy about [the disbandment] because I got to spend a lot of time with my teammates before [and now I cannot],” Syed said. “They were some of the nicest people I have ever been around. I just hope everyone continues to ride and compete.”
