Hurricane Dorian calls for horse evacuation
Written by Jessica Konopinski, photo courtesy of Sierra Ellis
A mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Dorian not only forced the students and faculty
With every intention of keeping the horses and faculty in place, the plan diminished when a mandatory evacuation was ordered Monday, September 2. With any evacuation there’s preparation, but for SCAD Equestrian, preparation is given a whole other meaning.
Given roughly two days to assemble, the clock was ticking. Between finding enough transportation, packing enough food/supplies and reserving enough shelter for 68 horses, the stress level was at an all-time high. Not to mention, recruiting as much faculty, staff and students to help out was crucial during this process.
After accommodations were made and everything was packed, the rest went quite smoothly, according to Michelle Phelps, office manager. The reservation of seven horse trailers [each holding 10-11 horses], along with SCAD’s four they were able to successfully accommodate all of the horses.
The five-hour haul to and from the Tryon International Equestrian Center located in Tryon, North Carolina went smoothly and with no complications.
This was the second evacuation for SCAD’s Equestrian Center in the last few years, and the organization and teamwork improved tremendously. Assistant Coach, Tatum Tatreau stated, “The evacuation to Tryon was by leaps and bounds improved from the first evacuation to Camden, South Carolina. We are very proud of our students who put in the hard work to take care of our horses and thankful for the minimal damage done at home.”
The SCAD Equestrian team arrived back home safe and sound with just enough time to prepare and
