Top California college cut entire championship winning team — then furious parents investigated
UC Davis cuts entire equestrian team — then furious parents investigated
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Skip to main content MetroTop California college cut entire championship winning team — then furious parents investigated
By Benjamin Brown Published June 28, 2026, 8:45 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleDespite winning its third conference championship in March, a California university abruptly ended its top-ranked equestrian program — leaving student-athletes stranded without a team and a college to attend.
University of California, Davis announced its shocking decision to cut equestrian as an intercollegiate sport in January, citing an external review from Collegiate Consulting that analyzed the cost of the program to justify its decision, The Chronicle reported.
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Parents said the team was heartbroken about the decision, which left student athletes in limbo as the deadline to transfer to another program had already passed.
Some students who were recently recruited to the team have since been turned away and denied regular admission to UC Davis.
While the university largely cited budget constraints to eliminate the program, emails and documents obtained by parents and provided to The Chronicle paint a much different picture — revealing school leadership was still recruiting and soliciting donations up until a month before the announcement, despite holding internal conversations planning to axe the program for the past year.
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An independent audit of the university’s report is also coming under fire for allegedly misrepresenting the true cost of the equestrian program, which supporters argue would actually net the university up to $700,000 annually.
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Rosemary Fritsch, whose daughter Rayna was recruited back in October 2024 — when schools officials behind the scenes had already planned on cutting the program — said she was devastated when she received the news over email.
“She knew she would have been overlooked” at other colleges, the mother told The Chronicle, “because she didn’t have fancy clothes or the most expensive horse.”
While Fritsch said he daughter was offered a chance to still attend the university, other parents told the outlet their student-athletes were either wait-listed or denied.
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The timeline of the events and the financial audit used to justify the decision are now under scrutiny.
In February 2025, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May told all university administration to plan for a 10 percent budget cut, a month later the equestrian team was on the chopping block as it would reportedly save just over a million dollars annually.
By early April, it seemed the decision was set in stone and other possibilities no longer needed to be considered “due to elimination of the equestrian program moving forward,” The Chronicle reported citing and an internal spreadsheet.
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The was seemingly confirmed in August, when an athletic budget spreadsheet said axing the program was approved pending an external review, according to the outlet.
But that third-party analysis was completed after the university announced its decision to end the equestrian program sparking outrage from parents and student-athletes.
Supporters of the team are now pushing back, telling The Chronicle that UC Davis athletics director Rocko DeLuca was merely looking for an excuse to frame the program as too expensive.
“I don’t understand why they’re not reinstating the team,” said Sigrid Elschot, a parent of an equestrian athlete. “We don’t even have a locker room.”
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Supporters are suing De Luca and other school officials, alleging the athletics director “fraudulently inflated the Equestrian program’s budget” and misled recruits when they knew for months the team was being cut.
The University’s police department is also investigating potential wire fraud as school leadership effectively decided to end the program while still soliciting donations, The Chronicle reported.
Andy Schwarz, one economist who was hired by supporters to conduct an independent audit, told The Chronicle the numbers from the external review don’t add up when determining the actual cost of the program.
The biggest error was a $665,000 price tag to purchase the horses, despite the animals being donated to the University, Schwarz told the outlet.
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Schwarz also said the report didn’t take into account that many of the students pay out-of-state tuition, and estimated the university could bring in up to $700,000 annually.
UC Davis issued a statement back in April, defending its decision to cut the program.
“We believe that all policies and practices were followed and that decisions regarding the Equestrian program were made appropriately and with the best interests of the UC Davis community in mind,” the university said in a statement.
The school is conducting its own review to determine the reliability of the financial information that was used to evaluate the program and the fundraising practices — but its findings won’t be released until June 30, the equestrian team’s final day, The Chronicle noted.
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Filed under
- athletes
- athletics
- california
- college athletes
- college sports
- Colleges and universities
- horses
- ncaa
- student-athletes
- 6/28/26
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
