Don't fault her for the truth

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By Joshua D. Scroggin

Rebecca Evans and twin sister Elizabeth were having a stare-down with their Fresno State equestrian teammates in the airport parking lot.

But it was closer to midnight than high noon—the interaction more like that of gawkers staring at two carnival freaks than shootout at the O.K.

Rebecca and Elizabeth didn’t drive to Fresno Yosemite International Airport at 10 p.m. to fight with their teammates. The two sophomores came to give them a ride home.

Instead, they say they got the silent treatment.

“ We drove down to the airport, and people just looked at us like we joined into Siamese twins,” Rebecca said.

Both are feeling like oddities since Rebecca came forward about the team’s horses being drugged for competitions.

Because of her public allegation, Fresno State’s equestriennes are no longer unknowingly riding drugged horses. They’re environment was made a little more safe, but Evans isn’t feeling very appreciated.

When the two got a call saying some of the equestriennes were stranded at the airport after returning from a competition, one drove the Volvo, one drove the Jeep, and they fully expected to bring back at least eight teammates.

They each brought two. The rest refused the ride. The twins felt like they had wasted their time.

It wasn’t the only time the two said they haven’t felt like a part of the team. And both are fearing they won’t be able to call themselves “part of the team” for very much longer.

Rebecca, along with Katey Augsburger, came forward after finding out that horses were being drugged by the coaching staff before competitions. Elizabeth is just guilty of being a twin.

If either deserves to be disliked by anyone on the team, it shouldn’t be because Rebecca went on record about the team’s drugging practices—but it probably is.

And that’s something she thought a lot about before deciding to go public with what she’d seen.

Referring to a Feb. 21 event, Evans said she saw assistant coach Trista Armstrong give one of the horses some “happy juice”—acepromazine—an animal tranquilizer known to have reverse effects in rare cases.

Evans wanted the drugging to stop, but she didn’t want to be the one to have to speak up.

“ At the time, I was thinking people would be upset,” she said, “and I didn’t want to be in a bad position with the coach.”

Evans knew what would happen to her if she spoke up. Other girls would view her as trying to bring down the team through negative publicity.

The team had already had its share when freshman Shana Eriksson fell from her horse on campus and died three days later.

Evans was also afraid she would alienate herself in the eyes of the only person on the equestrian team who’s opinion truly matters—head coach Chuck Smallwood.

It’s Smallwood who decides which riders on a team of 90-plus compete and which ones watch.

Evans is watching. She wants to be riding.

Exposing an embarrassing team secret and trying to make the coach accountable for it isn’t the best way to win some playing time.

Evans left the comfortable climate of the east Sierras and Bishop, Calif., for the 100-degree Fresno heatwaves to compete on the team. She said if it weren’t for the team, she wouldn’t have lasted a year in Fresno.

Coming forward would put her in the one doghouse she couldn’t afford to get in.

“ You have to work hard to get people’s respect,” Evans said, “and when you lose it, it’s hard to get it back.”

But Evans realized that statement goes both ways. And she felt the team, program and the coaching staff—including Smallwood—were losing respect by drugging the horses.

“ The other teams didn’t know. Not many of the other team members knew,” Evans said. “I thought it was an ethically wrong decision on his part.”

Safety became her final concern, and she did what she felt she was needed to force a change.

The result is an uncomfortable environment. Evans said Smallwood has not approached her. She said her teammates talk not to her, just about her. She’s stopped riding at the team’s practice facility. But she’s still doing what she can to be a part of the team and isn’t giving up her hopes of competing.

“ I do pretty much what I’m supposed to,” Evans said. “I go to workouts in the mornings and team meetings.”

A month and a half ago, the Evans’ mother, Sherril, sent two horses from home so the twins could get in some riding practice.

“ I’m committed to the team,” Rebecca said. “I ride six days a week, just not at the school.”

She’s still afraid she won’t get the opportunity to compete any time soon. She’s afraid she might be a casualty of rumored cuts aimed at reducing team size. She’s afraid she did the right thing.

“ I didn’t hear any negative reactions from people outside the team,” Evans said.