On July 13, members of the New Mexico State University Equestrian Team learned their National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I program was discontinued—effective immediately. Declining state funding and enrollment forced the university to make budget cuts of $12.1 million, and the Aggie equestrians were on the cutting board. 

“The athletics director, one of his quotes that really unnerved me was, ‘Now that we’ve done this budget cut, we can be a world-class athletic department,’ ” said Kristen Knezevich, whose daughter Karianna competes on the hunt seat team as a sophomore. “I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, our team won [United Equestrian] Conference last year. What did the football team do?’ 

“We didn’t mind if everybody took cuts,” she continued. “But for them basically saying, ‘Oh, here’s $400,000 or $500,000 we can save—let’s just get rid of the equestrian team.’ ”

While the school promised to honor the athletes’ scholarships for the remainder of their eligibility, their sport and team slipped away.  

“The influence of this sport on these young women is priceless,” said Sue Padilla, whose daughter Hallie competes on the western team and is a junior. “They are dedicated to their sport, hardworking, and have a true love for the animals they compete on. While many of these young ladies grew up competing as individuals, they now compete as a team. They have one of the highest GPAs of any other sport here at NMSU, and they dedicate countless hours to this community through volunteerism.”

With the help of emails between members and parents and a GoFundMe account, public opinion forced the school to reverse their decision in a matter of two days. 

“We got on with every senator and everyone we knew in New Mexico to kind of say, ‘You know, you at least have to give us a year and let us get organized and see what we can do here,’ ” said Kristen. 

The team earned one more year of funding from the school, but after this 2016-2017 season, they need to be self-sufficient. 

“Everyone’s really pushing to get the funding and really looking forward to this year and being the best we can be,” said Hallie. “[We’re] just taking it one week at a time and kind of going through it slowly.”

Now the team needs $530,000 to continue for the 2017-2018 season. 

“Unfortunately, the year they gave us is really not a year,” said Sue. “We are unable to recruit until we have the funds in place. The date that we are looking at now is Jan. 15, 2017.”

As of now, the team has raised approximately $100,000. The parents are working on numerous fundraising efforts, including applying for grants.

“We are reaching out to family, friends and people we know in the industry,” Sue said. “The main focus right now has been to get a professional package together before we approached donors.”

“They don’t understand the heart of the equestrians,” said Kristen. “For my daughter, basically, we have to make this work. It is the perfect school for her. It’s the perfect fit.”

And for many of the students, the equestrian team played a big factor in their college selection process. 

“I was recruited to some other schools, but I liked the size of the team and how closely knit it was,” said Hallie. “I like the smaller team and being able to see everyone.”