Despite budget cuts, Equestrian Club Team saved at NDSU

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - NDSU’s Equestrian Club Team is longer be in jeopardy, according to the coach.

A few weeks ago, officials said the university informed them they were eliminating the coach and advisor position in budget cuts.

The NDSU Equestrian Club wrote on their Facebook page, “Tara Swanson is an incredible coach, mentor, advisor, lecturer, and person. She has pushed us, helped us, and fought for us every single day in order for us to learn and grow as equestrians, students, and people in general. We realize we are so incredibly lucky to have her, and we will not give up on her, because she has never given up on us.”

They also formed a petition to try and save the program: https://chng.it/sgWbDMJtCq.

The Equestrian Club says Swanson is an integral part of NDSU’s Equine Science Program, teaching numerous classes, coaching the NDSU Western Equestrian team and is an advisory for the NDSU Horseman’s Association.

“Tara is the heart of the undergraduate Equine Science Program and has been teaching at NDSU for over 16 years. Without Tara’s position, many of the unique and core opportunities within the Equine Science program do not exist. Every program within Equine Science is threatened by this budget cut. Without Tara’s position, the Equine Science program will not survive,” students wrote about Tara in the online petition.

This came about after NDSU announced they could be facing major budget cuts, caused by a decline in student credit hours. But they hadn’t yet announced any specifics over what could be cut.

Thursday, in a message to the team, the coach says: The decision to get rid of her position has been reversed, meaning she will stay at the university, and classes and the team will continue.

She attributed the decision to the outreach from people on the team, supporting her.