toledoblade.com --

SWANTON - Galloping toward a trend, portions of the Toledo area are being put out to pasture as more and more people - cowboy wannabes, former couch potatoes, tech-tired teens - saddle up for a ride.

Some area residents are trotting out equestrian teams; others are harnessing a new interest in riding lessons, and more than a few have built barns and boarding stables to house a growing number of horses.

Whoa. What's going on here?

Equestrian sports are riding a wave of popularity for many reasons, experts say. It could be a hankering for stress relief, said Paula Buehrer, president of the Fulton County Saddle Club. "Maybe people who have a stressful work environment find trail riding relaxing. Having a horse around is a stress reliever."

Possibly, said Randy Crowl, who teaches agricultural education at Pike-Delta-York High School, the mounting interest in horses is tied to population shifts.

"More and more people are moving to the country," he said, noting that lots of five or 10 acres are popular, and with that expanse of land comes room for horses to roam.

Teens might be turning to riding and away from keyboarding because they want to participate in activities outdoors and compete in events that offer a chance to socialize and exercise, others said.

And hold your horses - some of those teens definitely are not riding off into the sunset.

"We're seeing a lot more interest in calf-roping," Mrs. Buehrer said. "Calf-roping is becoming more popular in this area. It's not just in the Wild West."

Mrs. Buehrer, who shows horses on the national level, said she recently found out that an additional tent for 4-H horses will be needed at the Fulton County Fair in September. "We need more space this year," she said.

Calf roping and speed events, such as racing around barrels, are drawing younger people to the arena in part because of the thrill, the love of horse power.

"I like speed racing," said Amanda Myers, 12, who lives near Neapolis in Lucas County.

"Amanda likes to go really fast," said her 16-year-old sister Ashlee, a member of the Anthony Wayne Equestrian Team and the Ventures 4-H horse club. Membership in both groups has been growing, she said. Ashlee competes almost every weekend at horse shows with Mo, her quarter horse. "It's a lot of fun," she said.

Interest in equestrian sports is big, said Patricia Jimison, who is helping to organize the new Swanton Equestrian Team. The team will be affiliated with the Interscholastic Equestrian Association, but not with Swanton High School, she said.

Robin Rayfield, Swanton superintendent, said the school board didn't have a problem with the new team using the school's name, providing that there was no cost to the district, such as for liability insurance.

It would cost $500 for that insurance, Mrs. Jimison said. Since the team is just forming and funds are limited, it couldn't pony up that amount. If the team had been affiliated with the school, it would have been as a club activity, not a sport, the superintendent said.

The Interscholastic Equestrian Association anticipates that membership in the national group will double in the coming school year because the IEA is adding a Western riding division. At the end of the 2004-05 scholastic year, with only an English riding division offered, there were 600 rider-members and 46 teams in 12 states, said Roxane Rheinheimer, president of the association that is headquartered in Ohio.

As riders gain recognition, and as high schools become aware of the significant amount of scholarship money available for equestrian athletes, the hope is that more public and private schools will see the benefits of school-associated equestrian programs, she said.

Riding is an emerging sport, but already, "Kids are getting full scholarships to be on college riding teams," Ms. Rheinheimer said. More young people could be getting involved in riding now because of the reduced cost to participate on some equestrian teams. Host schools, she said, provide horses and equipment. "You do not have to own a horse" to be on a team, she said, and that levels the playing field.

College students are climbing aboard for the ride, too, said Jen Hutson, 20, whose parents Larry and Nancy Hutson own River Hollow Farm in Perrysburg Township, where there is a waiting list to take riding lessons.

Interest in riding at the collegiate level "is definitely growing," said Ms. Hutson, a member of the equestrian team at Miami University in Oxford where more than 100 students tried out for 60 slots on the team. "A ton of schools are adding teams," she said. At Miami, there's talk of adding more horses to avoid cutting students who want to join the team, she said.

Some people are getting their kicks from horses and finally fulfilling their dreams.

"I think it is every child's dream to want a horse or pony," said Mrs. Buehrer. The Wauseon-area resident, who said that she always wanted a horse when she was a girl, bought her first horse before she bought her first car.

Contact Janet Romaker at: jromaker@theblade.com or 419-724-6006.

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