Fresh off their undefeated season and conference championship win, the women on the team are speaking out for the first time.
"It really is terrible to kind of get that ripped out from underneath you without anybody giving you any warning or even getting to pitch in your voice in a position like that," said Trimble. "You're just no longer an athlete," Dundas added.
In March, as CBS Sacramento reported, the team hosted its final meet on campus.
Outside of the human bonds formed are the unbreakable ones they develop with the nearly 30 horses on the team, which have all been donated to the equestrian program by community members for their use.
It is why saying goodbye to the program has been so hard, the teammates say.
The teammates found out mid-season in January when a last-minute, mandatory meeting was called. They were told that their program was being cut in favor of elevating a women's STUNT club on campus to DI varsity status.
But for women who have worked their entire lives to be on a DI equestrian team, they say dropping the reigns and giving up was not an option. They have organized an effort to reinstate the team that has drawn national attention. "Riding is the only thing that makes me feel like I'm not stressed about everything else in life," Trimble said from atop her favorite horse in one of the university's on-campus arenas. UC Davis says it based its decision to cut the team primarily on finances and released a third party report justifying it.
The team paid for a new independent audit to be done, which alleges the initial report's findings, "over-estimated the true operating expense by over 120% or by over $850,000."
"It's really imbalanced the way that it was represented," said Dundas. "It seemed like money was probably the easiest scapegoat." The findings of the new audit also suggest the team is actually a net benefit to the university and is not losing money. "Arguably, we're one of the most successful teams on campus. We've won three conference championships in the last four years," said Trimble.
A letter sent by attorney Arthur Bryant, representing the team, to the university alleges it is, "...depriving its female intercollegiate student athletes of equal athletic financial aid and equal treatment and benefits in violation of Title IX."
"We are hopeful that the team gets reinstated. But I think that regardless of whether or not it does, I hope that this just makes a big enough impact that people start asking questions and stop ignoring situations like this," said Trimble.
Trimble and Dundas say it is unfair for dozens of varsity athletes to suddenly overtake the existing club team.
As for what happens to the team's horses who live right on campus, that was the first concern of the women when they heard their program was being cut. "He's my best friend," Trimble said of her favorite horse. "It would break my heart to have him go anywhere where he wouldn't be treated like he deserves."
"The only way that the sport is going to continue to grow and be successful is if people continue to believe in it and see it as a dream that they decide to chase," said Dundas.
However, they stood by a statement released in April, saying that, "UC Davis audit and management advisory services has initiated a review to evaluate financial records and reporting practices to determine whether expenses were accurately represented to decision-makers and other appropriate authorities."
A federal lawsuit on behalf of four team members alleging the university recruited them under false pretenses was thrown out but is expected to be reintroduced in state court.
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