Living in Kansas comes with its stereotypes.

Country and farmland as far as the eye can see.

Everyone talks with an accent highlighted with “y’all” and “howdy!”

And every so often, you ride your horse to school.

Freshman Elizabeth Vore has that skill.

An avid equestrian, Vore has been riding horses since she was in 6th grade.

“I’ve loved horses ever since I can remember,” Vore said. “When I was entering middle school, my parents told me I could do any sport I wanted and they would support that sport.”

Vore and freshman Alexis Vance frequent horse shows, where they compete and — more often than not — win.

“We have lots of ribbons,” Vance said. “I could fill my entire room with horse show ribbons.”

Horse shows occur once a month for a week to a week and a half.

Vore said because riding takes up so much of her time, she misses school often to go to these horse shows.

Make-up work piles up over the course of riding, and Vore said she feels school-linked sports don’t have as heavy a penalty when they miss school for their sports.

In hopes of remedying this, Vore and Vance started BV’s Equestrian Club.

“We wanted to have an event at school for people who liked horses because there didn’t seem to be any around,” Vance said. “We wanted to get equestrian recognized as a sport in high school.”

Equestrian Club began second semester, but paperwork was taken care of during first semester.

Vore said creating a club is a long process.

“You have to get a teacher to be your sponsor and you have to get a minimum number of students,” Vore said. “You have to get a bunch of papers signed.”

Now that the club has started, Vance said she is pleased with the direction it is heading.

“We have about 6 or 7 members, and we’re just trying to spread awareness about equestrian and equestrian sports,” she said.

Equestrian Club meets every month, and posters announce the specific meeting date. During club meetings, members present an aspect of riding and Vore and Vance lead discussions. They also plan outings “as a group of friends” to barns.

Both Vore and Vance hope this will spark interest in horses among their classmates.

“The best part is you get to work with loving horses,” Vance said. “My horse is like a sibling to me. She’s my best friend.”