Sept. 29, 2005

WACO, Texas - To kick off its inaugural season, Baylor's equestrian team will host an intra-team scrimmage this Saturday, October 1, though it is considered a practice that will be closed to public spectators. The program was declared Baylor's 18th varsity sport back in November of 2004 by athletic director Ian McCaw.

The scrimmage contains both English and Western style events and will showcase all of Baylor's riders. For some members of the team, this will be their first time to experience a team show environment since many are accustomed to competing individually. Since Baylor is scheduled to soon compete at the Big 8 tournament at Georgia, Oct. 6-8, head coach Ellen White wanted to get her girls comfortable in a formal setting.

"We are excited to let the girls scrimmage with a format and to test what we are going to be doing in competitions. We are anxious to see how the girls perform. This will hopefully prepare us for real shows."

White was hired in late December of 2004 while assistant coach Trista Armstrong was picked up in March of 2005.

The program's first open public show will be Oct. 15 and will again be an intra-team scrimmage.

A permanent arena for the equestrian program has yet to be established; therefore, shows are currently being held at Baylor's temporary equestrian facilities at Willow Spring Farm.