B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 17,1984
BY SUZANNE KEENE
COCHRANVILLE - Members
of the Gum Tree Equestrians, a 4-
H drill team from Chester County,
were happy to see President
Reagan come out on top during the
recent presidential election. While
many voters were pleased to see
Reagan win because of his
economic policies and his strong
military stance, the Gum Tree
Equestrians were glad to see him
win because he is a horse lover.
“He is a big horseman,” drill
team leader Linda Weigel asserts,
noting that Reagan had many
horses in his first inaugural
parade.
The Gum Tree Equestrians hope
to strut their stuff in his next
inaugural parade early next year.
“We hopefully can get there,”
Weigel says.
The drill team has made initial
contact with Congressman Bob
Walker and State Representative
Art Hershey, who are helping the 4-
H’ers gain a place in the parade.
The team is in the process of ap
plying to the armed forces for that
privilege.
In the meantime, the group of 13
girls and one boy who make up the
team is hard at work, practicing,
practicing, and practicing some
- « jry.
Equestrians anxiously await an invitation tot he inaugural
parade. Pictured are: (front from left) Scott Delore, Michelle
Bonhage, Amy Harbst, and Jenny Delore. In the center row
from the left are Debbie Campbell, Tracey Weigel, Susan
McAdam, Tina Phipps, and Sandy Bonhage. In rear from left
are Chris Nicotera, Donna McLaughlin, Jennifer Esposito and
Beth Brofee.
Members of the Gum Tree Equestrians work through a drill
during a recent practice session.
Chester Co. 4-H equestrians aspire to inaugural parade
more to perfect their routines.
Team members range in age
from 10 to 17 and are all members
of the Gum Tree 4-H Horse and
Pony Club. Participation in the
drill team is an option open to all
club members.
Some of the drill team members
have been riding for years, while
others have only three or four
months experience. Seven or eight
of the members have been with the
team since it began about a year
ago and share their experience
with the newer members.
The drill team is the brain child
of Bill and Dawn McCuen, who own
the Kalulvi Alihelisde Equestrian
Center near Cochranville, where
the team practices. Dawn gives
riding lessons to all the team
members and provides horses for
some of the members who do not
own a horse.
Team members who use Dawn’s
animals do 75 percent of the work
for those horses and help out with
the barn chores as part of their 4-H
project.
The group gathers at the Mc-
Cuen’s every Saturday to work on
their drills, practicing pairs, and
crossovers, and learning to space
the horses properly. Weigel said it
took the team about one month of
Drill team leaders Charlotte Nicotera, Linda Weigel and Ann Drumheller proudly
display a poster bearing pictures and newspaper clippings of the team.
practice just to leam to space the
horses one horse length apart.
Getting the horses accustomed
to the colorful, waving flags that
team members carry in the drills
is another challenge. “It takes
quite a while to get a horse to the
point where you can walk up to it
with a flag,” Weigel said.
Pairing up and matching strides
also takes a lot of time. Every
team member knows how to be the
leader of the group and the
positions switch ail the time.
“There will never be just one
leader,” Weigel aserts. “We want
anyone to be able to take the lead. ’ ’
While it does take a lot of time to
learn all the elements necessary
for a successful drill team, Weigel
says “the kids pick it up
remarkably fast.”
During practice, the 4-H’ers
often know when something isn’t
going right before the leaders,
watching from the ground, do.
“They seem to pick it up faster on
the horses than we do on the
ground,” Weigel said.
The team performs their routine
to a number of musical selections,
but the team favorites are
“Chariots of Fire” and
“Carousel.”
Ann Drumheller, another of the
drill team leaders, does most of the
choreography for the team’s
routines. Drumheller says she gets
some of her ideas from books, but
most of them just come out of her
head.; And, “sometimes the kids
come up with the ideas them
selves,” she says.
The team is continually
changing their routine. “We keep
incorporating more things into it,”
making it a little more difficult
each time by adding more involved
movements, Drumheller said.
“They really have come a long
way.”
Apparently all the hours of hard
work and practice have paid off.
The team has taken first place in
the 75th Annual Wissahickon Day
Parade in Philadelphia and first
place in this year’s Solanco Fair
Parade. They were also the first
place team at County 4-H Roundup
and the second place team at
Regional Roundup.
While at first the team had to
solicit invitations to perform, and
still do sometimes, they do receive
unexpected invitations. Now at
parades, Weigel said, “we hear
people saying that they have heard
of us.”
The actual performances are the
highlight of participating in the
drill team for its members. “It’s
really fun when everyone smiles at
you and waves,” says team
member Jennifer Esposito.
4-H equestrian Beth Brofee takes time out from a busy
practice session to pose with her horse "Miraska." Although
Miraska belongs to Bill and Dawn McCuen, who operate the
equestrian center where the team practices, Beth does 75
percent of the work involved in Miraska’s care as part of her
4-H project.
Jennifer, 13, is one of the original she especially enjoys hearing
team members. compliments along the parade
For fifteen-year-old Beth Brofee, roate
another team member, “The most a^so sees participation in
enjoyable aspect is working team as good training for
together.” But she does add that (Turn to Page B 4)
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