Shayna Tiller, a sophomore animal science major, jumps with her horse, Irish Humor, in a demonstration at last year’s  Maryland Day. 

“Finn, are you for real?” yelled an exasperated Tori Dougherty from the middle of the riding ring.

Instead of trying to reconcile, Finn turned and walked away, a response that would usually seem rude and even imprudent if Finn were a human being. 

However, Finn is a horse.   

In fact, Finn is one of six horses that call the Campus Farm home. But the home wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for members of the Maryland Equestrian Club such as Dougherty, a junior environmental science and technology major as well as the head of training for the club. 

The club has worked since 1998 to provide students with a way to be around horses, learn about horses, care for horses and better their riding skills, all without leaving the campus. This year, the club plans to take in many new members as well as expand its outreach efforts outside the university community. 

“The majority of the campus doesn’t know that we exist here and that we play such a huge role [on the farm],” said Rachael Bennett, a senior communication major as well as the Maryland Equestrian Club president. 

Maryland Equestrian Club members are the primary horse caretakers. Club members don’t just get to ride; being in the club means committing to completing chores, which can involve waking up at 7 a.m. to clean out the stables and feed the horses. Yet, for the dedicated club members, the chores are always worth it. 

“It’s a really unique club in terms of workload,” Bennett said. “There’s a lot of love and passion that goes into paying $40 to scoop poop at 7 a.m.” 

Bennett has plans to work hard this year to make the club more present and well known on and off the campus. 

“I want to get the club off the campus and more involved in the community,” she said. “I would like people to know that we’re here.” 

The Maryland Equestrian Club plans two fundraisers each year, a portion of which goes toward a horse rescue. For club members, it feels good to donate to rescues and help horses that might not be as fortunate as those residing on the Campus Farm. 

“It sounds so corny, but my whole thing is to give horses the chance to be a horse that they never got,” Bennett said. 

When on the farm, you enter a dusty livestock paradise filled with worn-in red stables and farm animals. From the farm’s center, the rustic red gable-shaped roofs juxtapose against the modern red panes of glass that decorate the Physical Sciences Complex. 

For Cecelia Parks, a graduate student studying library science and the head of lessons for the club, the farm and the horses provide a helpful solace. 

“When you’re with the horses, you can’t really be thinking about things other than the horses,” she said. “It kind of helps you stay sane through the really crazy parts of the semester.” 

As members new and old funneled into a lecture hall within the Animal Science/Agricultural Engineering Building for the annual Maryland Equestrian Club general introductory meeting, the feeling of anticipation was almost palpable. 

When the meeting began, each board member of the club stood and gave a brief statement. Jennifer Arseneault, a senior hospitality major and the club’s historian, addressed the club’s size and strength. 

“It seems like we’re a pretty small club,” she said, looking up at the sea of interested students. “But we do a whole lot for the farm.”