 The Coach
Emily Costello
Emily Costello is a Truman State University alum and long-time equestrian team enthusiast. Emily grew up riding horses in St. Louis, MO. She started out showing
hunters and then jumpers on her pony Polly. She later bought an unbroke 5 yr old warmblood named Daquiri as a long-term project, started showing her dressage and has recently begun jumping her.
Coach Costello joined the Truman State Equestrian Team as a sophomore in college. During her competitive years she went to regionals and then zones in the intermediate hunt divisions. Although formally trained in English riding, Coach Costello started riding western in college. In addition to coaching the equestrian team Coach Costello is also the horsemanship instructor. Her interests away from horses include most other animals, genetics, gardening, and reading. |
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Truman Equestrian Team
 Truman's Equestrian Team is affiliated with the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), which provides a relatively inexpensive venue through which college-level students interested in showing horses can compete. The Truman Equestrian Team consists of 40-55 members on the Truman State University campus. We take about 6 trips a year to compete in shows with other colleges and universities in their division. We earn points at each of the shows they attend and try to earn enough points to move up into the regional, zone, and national competitions.
Shows
Prior to each class at a show, each rider draws a horse's name. They are not allowed to ride the horse prior  to entering the class. Riders are judged on their equitation and ability to control the horse. Members can compete in both hunt and western shows, and there are various divisions depending on ability level. Points are given according to placings in each class. When a rider reaches 35 points in a division, they advance to the next division as well as qualify for the regional competition. If a rider performs well at regionals, they may advance to zones and can then qualify for nationals.
Travel and Practice
The members of the Truman Equestrian Team practice 5 days a week. Attending practices regularly is not required but is encouraged. Before attending a show, you must have attended at least 4 practices within two weeks of the show. Practices are held at the University Farm and are coached by Emily Costello, an accomplished rider, trainer, and equine professor at Truman. Truman provides funding for transportation and one hotel room for the coach. All other hotel, food, and clothing (although some clothing can be borrowed or checked out from the team) expenses are divided equally between the students. The Truman State University Equestrian Team is part of Zone 9, Region 2. This means that Truman's team competes against Augustana College, Black Hawk College, Drake University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Missouri State University, Northern Illinois University, NMSU, Northwestern University, SIU - Carbondale, University of Kansas, and Washington University in St. Louis. Truman also hosts one of the stock shows and provides horses for this event. |
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