Congrats to the Fightin' Texas Aggie Equestrian Team on the #1 ranking that they have held the entire season.

http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/w-equest/spec-rel/030111aaa.html

thank god for title IX!!!

November was their first #1 Ranking in school history?? That surprises me.

My apologies as they were 2nd in the first poll of the season and went to first after that. They were unbeaten until the Oklahoma State at Stillwater matchup last weekend.

This is the first year of the coaches poll.

Aggie Equestrian has racked up 8 national championships of some kind in its 11 year existance, so I agree... Thank God for Title IX allowing A&M to get some additional National Championship recognition.

this might just be me, but i dont take equestrian championships seriously. lets be real, there are roughly 15-20 teams in NCAA equestrian. not only that, but the sport is only around in order to satisfy ncaa title IX requirements. these same requirements cause mens tennis to have less scholarships than womens tennis, mens swimming to have less scholarships than womens swimming, and baseball to have less scholarships than softball. this is a serious problem that needs to be modified. title IX was originated because of needs for gender equality, but has transformed into the creation of gender inequality for men in the smaller sports.

AY YOU DONT SAY THAT!!!!

I respect the opinion cooper, because I'm sure it's widely held, as well as the sentiment behind it, because I think that it's probably what most people in the country would say. But I'm never going to say that I don't take someone elses sport seriously, regardless of its visibility. As long as they're out there trying to be the best that they can be at it, I'm going to respect their efforts. Something about throwing stones in glass houses...

Cooper,

You are correct in that there are 23 teams strictly under the VENC format which is the format recognized by the NCAA; however, there are over 370 collegiate teams that compete under the IHSA format with over 8000 riders. I think the goal of VE is to recruit more of these schools to the their format, of course.

I don't really have a comment on Title IX and how the scholarships affect the other sports, but I will follow along the same lines as the previous poster. These young ladies and their families have invested many, many hours a week, and countless dollars investing in the training it takes to compete at this level. Some of these young ladies have won Youth World Championships in different horse associations, which puts them in an elite class of Equestrian athletes. They spend time in the weight room, for strength and conditioning, like all other athletics and are held to the same NCAA standards as the rest for academics and compliance. Their practice and training starts in August of every year and... well never stops. While they are out of school they continue training and competing.

At their competitions, they are given their "one play out of the playbook", just prior to competition, in which they must memorize precisely or be disqualified. It's not like me getting on a horse to trail ride, but requires intense rider and horse precision and speed, to compete at this level. Many of these athletes can compete at professional levels after college where some riders competitive earnings have and will surpass millions of dollars.

I think it is a great addition to college athletics. Many parts of the country have equestrian teams at the high school level. And... you are correct... it does help allow for some smaller men's sports.

i believe my statements about title IX issues were misunderstood. i respect that these girls are doing something that they love and are being rewarded for doing so at a great institution where all the resources needed to be successful are made available to them.

that being said, i find it not only unfair, but also unjust that mens tennis, soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, and even in the recent future a few baseball teams are being dropped all around the country while their female equivalents get to remain around. not only that, but when those teams arent dropped, the ncaa places stricter scholarship limitations on them. for example mens soccer is allowed 9.9 scholarships while womens soccer is allowed 14. women are being given more opportunities at the expense of their male equivalents. title IX has become an issue of reverse discrimination. fortunately we are at a university that is fortunate enough to be able to support and fund an equestrian team so that we can field these mens teams. many other schools do not enjoy this luxury and mens minor sports are reeling.

excellent

So proud of my girls!!!