NCAA Equestrian colleges

Question

What exactly is NCAA and what does it take to get in? Also, is IHSA kind of the same thing? I am just confused about the whole idea of it.

Answer 1

The NCAA is the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Equestrian is an NCAA sport that offers equitation for the english side and reining for the western side. As an NCAA sport it is taken very seriously, meaning you have to attend practices every day plus required study hours, plus required meetings with your counselor, tutoring, etc. If you want to get on a team you can either get recruited or do a walk-on tryout. NCAA is better because they can offer you scholarships, plus you get all the "perks" that the other NCAA sports get.

Are you looking at getting on a team? I signed w/ my school to ride in college and it was not easy to get in...took a lot of long years of riding and competing, good times and bad. My advice to you is to first register with the NCAA clearinghouse when your a junior in high school. Go to the schools athletic website that your interested in and fill out the "prospective student-athlete questionnaire". Then email the coaches of the schools your interested in riding for. They will probably ask you for your resume and a video, which should include you riding and jumping several different horses.

The above answerer explained the show-system well...draw a random horse and there ya go!

P.S. If you want more info or a list of colleges that have a team go to their website:

http://www.varsityequestrian.com/about.h...

Edit: You can bring your own horse, but you will not be able to show it. It will become a "team" horse so everyone will be able to ride your horse. Same thing with your tack. They supply team horses and tack, so I would not recommend bringing your own.

There are a lot of little detailed eligibility requirements...for example, you have to have your amateur status (you can not be a professional and ride on a team. Things like accepting money for teaching riding lessons will affect your amateur status)  When you register with the clearinghouse, you'll go through all sorts of questions that will determine whether you are eligible.

As far as riding requirements, they aren't really any "you HAVE to be able to..." stuff like that. However, it is very competitive and you won't make the team unless you have certain skills, especially having the ability to ride a lot of different horses and still look good.  It's really good to have a proven record (such as showing well) of your riding abilities.   You don't have to be competing in equitation to get a scholarship or get on the team though. I did eventing all my life so even though I didn't have experience in equitation, my background was strong enough to get me on the team and my show records were good. If your a strong rider, you could still make the team without doing equitation. You could still make it without showing... a lot depends on your video and how strong your basics are...the coach will be able to help you tweek your position. Having good horseman skills is a plus too, such as being in Pony Club.  We have a lot of girls that came from show jumping or hunters or dressage or eventing, etc so don't be discouraged if you don't think you fit the exact model.

This is how it is in the NCAA, I don't know much about the IHSA.

Answer 2

I show in IHSA, and since most of it's already been covered, I'm not going to repeat what other answerers have already said.

For IHSA, yes, you get thrown onto a horse you've never ridden before, unless you've drawn that horse in a previous show at the same school. Schools host the shows and provide all of the tack and horses. Occasionally, coaches will bring some of their own horses if the host school asks them to bring extra horses. I know of one school that had a ton of their horses go lame because of how hard the ground was in the winter, so I actually ended up drawing one of our barn's horses, who I had ridden the week before. It's really rare that happens, though. And the riders who school the horses aren't allowed to show in that show, because it would be seen as an unfair advantage.

There are all sorts of levels you can be entered into, but you have to either a) prove you are good enough for that class or b) earn enough points by placing in classes to move up to the next level.

1- Beginner (W/T)

2a- Beginner (W/T/C)

2b- Advanced (W/T/C)

3- Novice Flat

4- Novice over Fences

5- Intermediate Flat

6- Intermediate over Fences

7- Open Flat

8- Open over Fences

To be able to get on a team, it varies hugely from school to school.

Penn State, for example, has tryouts for each level, and cuts people from the team.

My school, on the other hand, (Bucknell) has a team size of roughly 40 riders, but it varies from year to year, because we allow anyone on the team as long as they can pay for lessons. We have a "Show Team" and a "Home Team" within the team, too. The Show Team has to be able to make it to every IHSA show, although they aren't guaranteed to be able to show in every show.

Some host schools have to limit the number of riders they can have in each class because of horse availability and time constraints.

What I have described is purely the English aspect of IHSA. Some schools participate in the Western events, although they aren't as widespread, and not all regions have the availability as you do with English.

Message me if you have more questions!!!

Oh yeah, if you're looking to go to a school with an Equestrian team, be sure to schedule a visit at the barn as well as the school! I've done tours at my barn for potential applicants. Ask if you can do a lesson while you're there, too. It doesn't hurt to ask!

Answer 3

Last I knew, NCAA follows the clearinghouse system. Just like a basketball player, you'll need to register for the clearinghouse and try out. Also, if you're going to attend one near home, keep in mind that NCAA rules do not allow you to show anywhere but in the college shows while you're enrolled and on an NCAA team.

IHSA and NCAA both follow a catch riding style show system. You show up with your show gear and your teammates, your class is assembled (say, there's 8 of you), you're assigned a number 1 through 8 and then you're RANDOMLY assigned a horse by the number, not your name. You get to watch the horse being schooled, you get a description of how the animal goes (which is NOT always accurate! not gonna get started on that...ugh...) and, if you're not the first class up, you can watch how other riders handle the animal. When it comes time for your class, a teammate or coach puts you up in the saddle, adjusts your stirrups and into the ring you go! There's no warming up and only the horse's handler may touch any of the tack besides the stirrups.

IHSA is kind of the same thing and is just as widespread throughout colleges nationwide but, because of the following NCAA has for so many other sports, I wouldn't be surprised if it overtakes IHSA in the next decade or so. Most Ivy League and really big name colleges have an NCAA team. Some have an NCAA and an IHSA team!

Do some thorough online research before you make any final decisions. I've ridden IHSA hunt seat and stock seat for 3 years now and it really is a unique experience but it can be frustrating. Not knowing your mount and then being judged on how well you handle it usually is!