A team of new athletes has joined the SMU Athletic Departmentthis fall, and not all of them are human.

Women’s equestrian has been added to the list of varsitysports offered at SMU. There are 21 women on the team, 15 of whichtravel and represent SMU in equestrian competitions around thecountry.

The decision to add the sport came last spring, and the teamwill jump into competition Nov. 8 with their first IntercollegiateHorse Show Association competition in Stillwater, Okla.

“The team is made up of two athletes working together asone — the horse and the rider,” equestrian head coachJennifer Passow said.

Passow takes the helm after 23 years of riding experience.

For women who attend the university and have participated in thesport, this is a “way to be involved while in college, whichis an opportunity that has not existed before,” Passowsaid.

The team focuses on a form of English saddle riding calledHunter style. The rider has close contact with the horse and isjudged on her ability to command the horse precisely around acourse. Form is the most important thing the rider is judged on,Passow said.

She is also trying to establish a western riding program tocomplement the current team.

She said that adding this other discipline will help the teamaccumulate more points at competitions and move higher in thenational standings.

Lowery Rogers, a member of the team, said that one of the mostmisunderstood aspects of the sport is that the rider just has tosit on a horse.

Equestrian is “not easy. It takes your whole body”to control the horse, she said.

The team practices are very intensive, Passow said. Twice a weekthe team, works on horseback at the Las Colinas Equestrian Center,and the remainder of their time is spent working on strength andconditioning in the Loyd All-Sports Center on campus. They work ontheir legs, lower back and arms as the riders need incrediblestrength and balance to keep their form and command the horseproperly.

The addition of equestrian helped SMU move one step closer tobeing Title IX compliant.

Title IX is a law that was passed in the ‘70s thatmandates equity in sports. Part of the law states that thepercentage of females and males at a university must match thepercentage of athletic opportunities available to each sex.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has found that manyschools have been having difficulty complying with Title IX; SMU isno different.

In the recent past women’s volleyball and rowing have beenadded to help bring the school into compliance, but the AthleticDepartment is still short many women’s athleticopportunities.

“SMU is doing what they have to do to comply [with therules of Title IX],” Doug Wright, head coach of thewomen’s rowing team said.

The addition of the equestrian team provides more athleticopportunities to women on this campus.