By Maddie Gee | Reporter
The Baylor Riding Association (BRA) has been on Baylor’s campus since 1949 — when it was called the “Baylor Rodeo Club” — making it one of the oldest organizations on campus. With a dedication “to teaching riders of all experience levels the joys of horsemanship,” the organization works to show how fun horseback riding can truly be.
McKinney senior Jazmin Ramos has been involved with the organization since her freshman year.
“I have been horseback riding the four years that I have been at college. I can not explain how grateful I am for this opportunity,” Ramos said. “People come with a ton of experience or none at all — I think we all come together. It does not matter what kind of background you came from. We all come together because we like being outside, and we like each other’s company amongst the horses that we have.”
Seattle senior Jenny Gibbs also enjoys being involved with the organization.
“I’ve been riding since I was four, and I’ve been involved since I was a freshman. The riding association has given me a fantastic escape from the crazy life of being around campus. It’s great to be able to go out and relax,” Gibbs said.
With 30 active members this semester, the organization is looking to expand by participating in on-campus events and hosting events of their own.
“We participate in Late Night. We do a ‘Dr. Pepper Hour’ in the spring where they showcase the clubs too. We have our ‘Horses on Campus’ which is our big recruiting event. We basically take out two of our horses, we bring them on campus and they spend all day there. Usually that catches peoples attention, especially if they are out of state. We also participate in Homecoming,” Ramos said.
With this being her final year at Baylor and looking back on her time in the organization, Ramos feels she has been personally impacted by joining the organization.
“… One of my friends graduated and moved out, and she along with a couple of others became my rock. They checked in on me even if it was out of the blue,” Ramos said.
Even though there is distance between them, Ramos and her group of friends are still very close.
“We check in on each other even if we have not seen each other in awhile,” Ramos said. “We would spend four hours, three times a week with each other on the trails, so it is not just something where you can ask ‘How are your classes?’ We would talk about life, and we would have get-togethers outside of the BRA. A lot of them come over to my house. It is a lot of little things that make you step back and go ‘Wow these people have really become my family.’”
If someone would like to contact the organization for more information, check out their Orgsync page as well as their official website.
