This week’s Club Sports Team Captain of the week is Ana Driggs!
Ana, a Boston College senior, is the President and Captain of the Boston College Equestrian Team, a competitive club sports team that competes in the IHSA Zone 1 Region 4.
What exactly is the Boston College Equestrian Team?
The Boston College Equestrian Team (BCET for short) is a competitive club sports team that competes against other teams in the IHSA Zone 1 Region 4. At competitions, each rider is randomly assigned a horse provided by the host school. Then, without any warm-up, each rider must enter the ring and complete a specified course of jumps or carry out a flat class without any prior understanding of the kind of horse that they are riding. BCET’s Zone is one of the most competitive in the country, reflecting just how hard each member of the team must work to succeed at each competition. The BCET has weekly lessons at Saddle Rowe Farm, the “home” barn of the team, as well as team workouts throughout the year-long season.
What has been your highlight of the year so far?
Our home horse show was definitely the highlight of my show season. For me, it was a personal highlight because I was 2nd in my over fences class, qualifying me for Regionals at the end of the year. As a captain, it was the culmination of the team’s hard work thus far and it was really amazing to see how hard all of our girls have worked together. More than previous years, we have worked to make the team more competitive and close-knit. Seeing all of my teammates laughing and smiling at the end of a 12+ hour day really made it all worth it.
What is your favorite part of the BC Equestrian Team?
Definitely our team members because we are all really different but everyone shares the same passion for horses and the determination to succeed at such a difficult and unique sport.
What are you most looking forward to this season?
I am looking forward to competing with my other teammates at Regionals in the spring. I hope that a member of our team will qualify for Zones and then for Nationals, which would be the first time in our team’s history that a rider is qualified for the National Finals.
Last but not least, lets not forget the BCET’s Mascot… Ana’s very own, Winston Driggs!