# IHSA: Is this rude and what is your experience with it?



## littlestars (Sep 23, 2014)

So, I am heading off to college in the near future, and I hope to try out for the IHSA western team if I get into my top college (the only one I'm looking at with a western team) However, there is a slight issue. I have never been able to afford to show nor have my own horse.

By the time I am going to college, I will have been riding well over ten years all of which have been reining. I am able to not only perform all the reining maneuvers properly, but train them from start to finish as well as I have experience starting green horses and done some training for others. (I am very very lucky that while there are no decent show barns in my area for horseless riders, my RI is willing to give his high level students plenty of real world training experience if they want to keep improving)

My problem is that with my lack of showing puts me in the second lowest category of western, which only requires more than 24 months in the saddle :? I personally don't like IHSA western horsemanship because it is pretty much western pleasure with a tiny pattern at the end.... Just not a fan of riding the rail. I am not interested in paying a lot of money to show just to do something I find boring.. I know with my experience being placed at a low level would probably mean easy points, I just feel that I won't get anything out of it and I want to become a better rider and especially a better trainer, not just win ribbons.

What I intend to do is try out for the team, see if I place high enough to point out into reining within a year, and if not decline my place on the team.. If I'm not on the team, I can still take weekly lessons with the coach and have 
access to team horses outside of lessons, so keeping up riding 5+ days a week is no issue. It just feels kind of rude and a bit snotty to me to try out for the team and then decline a position just because it's too low... What do you think?

Also, what are your experiences in IHSA? Especially reining?


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

It IS rude and snotty. Instead of wasting everyone's time, leave the tryouts to the youngsters who would be grateful for the chance to ride with the team, instead of feeling it's beneath them. :?


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

You already don't like what is offered, so don't waste your money and their time. 

Find another way to get saddle time.


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## littlestars (Sep 23, 2014)

Speed Racer said:


> It IS rude and snotty. Instead of wasting everyone's time, leave the tryouts to the youngsters who would be grateful for the chance to ride with the team, instead of feeling it's beneath them. :?


I don't feel like the team is beneath me. I would love to be on the team, just not just the next level up from walk/trot, if I'm paying to show I want to be doing horsemanship at a level that I can actually IMPROVE at and for it to actually be possible to move into the sport I have been doing for years. At the level I am placed at it would be next to impossible without winning every single competition for three years in a row :lol:

I asked for opinions and that is what I got. I respect that. Just in no way to I feel that the team itself is beneath me


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

You only feel it's worthy of you if they place you where YOU think you belong. Again, leave the tryouts to the ones who will be happy to just make the team. Don't waste anyone's time or money, including your own.


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

A little story for you that might make you feel better(?) about wherever you may be placed:

A few years ago, I was in community college. I needed a few PE credits and saw that the school offered horsemanship [SCORE!!] for PE credits, so, of course, I signed up.
It was only "beginning horsemanship" [just walk/trot with a day spent on loping] so I figured that I would ace the whole thing and learn nothing from the experience, given that I owned my own horse + had been riding/taking lessons for years + had done some training, etc, in the past.

I didn't say much about my experience level to start, mostly because I didn't want to seem braggy in a class of 12 other ladies who had mostly never ridden. So I got thrown on this ancient QH and, to be honest, the first class WAS boring as all get out.
After class, the instructor pulled me aside and started drilling me about my experience level. I came clean and told him the gist of my experience - it turned out he had noticed seconds into the class, but didn't want to embarrass anyone.

Anyway, long story short, the next class I got to ride his, trained to the hilt, AQHA champion mare. she was his pride and joy that he "never" let students ride. 
She was impeccably trained and I can honestly say that riding her that term probably impacted my riding more than probably any other experience I've had thus far. I thought I had ridden well trained horses but I had NO IDEA. 
Now when I'm working with a horse, my goal is for them to end up like that Cadillac of a horse.

I still got an A in the class and there was never any question of getting an excellent grade, but I learned SO much more than I thought I would.


Anyway, I'm not saying that you don't know what a trained horse is or anything like that, but I am saying that you may learn something you haven't even fathomed yet.
Don't discount the people in charge. If they see a talent they _need_, it seems unlikely that they'll stick you in a 'worthless' position. 
And even if you do get placed where you don't want to be, you'll still gain a year of showing experience, right?


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

I'm on my college's IHSA team, and if the coach feels that you qualify for a higher level she can put you into that level manually. There is a girl on my team that was placed Beginner WTC, my coach put her into Novice over fences and flat. Same can be done for Western. 

Not a big deal, just have a chat with the coach.


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

Also remember that when you are showing you are riding a different, random horse each time that you have never met before. That will make the experience much more difficult and you a better rider. In one weekend the likelihood of you drawing the same horse in 3+ classes is nill.


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## RegularJoe (Aug 26, 2014)

littlestars said:


> What I intend to do is try out for the team, see if I place high enough to point out into reining within a year, and if not decline my place on the team.. If I'm not on the team, I can still take weekly lessons with the coach and have access to team horses outside of lessons, so keeping up riding 5+ days a week is no issue.


I'll go against the grain here and say I see nothing wrong with this so long as you're up front with the coach about your goals. 

I see no reason you should do something you're not interested in just because other people would be happy to do it.

People make choices like this all the time, even horse people. How many of you would ride if the only kind of riding you could do was a kind you found boring? I'm interested in trails and endurance. Anything I do in an arena is only a means to that end. If the only riding I could do was in the arena, I wouldn't bother at all.


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## countercanter (May 18, 2011)

Your coach has the ultimate say for what division you are placed in. We had plenty of members when I did IHSA that had lots of riding experience but very little show experience. My coach placed them where she felt they would be most successful. Its also better to start somewhere a little lower because then you have somewhere to progress to. I started in Intermediate flat and fences even though I probably would have been fine in Open...but then I was confident and was able to qualify for regionals/zones and all that fun stuff. I would at least give it a chance and show up to the informational meeting/try outs or whatever your school does for new/interested potential members.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

EliRose said:


> Also remember that when you are showing you are riding a different, random horse each time that you have never met before. That will make the experience much more difficult and you a better rider. In one weekend the likelihood of you drawing the same horse in 3+ classes is nill.


This! IHSA provides invaluable riding and showing experience! Where else do you get the opportunity to hop on numerous, unknown horses and immediately show them without any warm up time? It is truly exhilarating and a HUGE test of your skills as a rider.

Rather than feeling snubbed, you should be embracing the opportunity to become a better rider. There is ALWAYS room for improvement! If your showing results truly reveal you should be in a higher level, you still have 3 more years of competition eligibility


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## Acco (Oct 4, 2011)

I was similar to you when I went to college - I had been riding since I was 9 with tons of jumping experience, but I had never done any showing whatsoever prior to college, so I got placed in Walk Trot Canter (hunt seat) which is the 2nd lowest level, and which involves no jumping. 

I would say to you, don't get hung up on what level you're placed in. If you don't get to do reining in the IHSA shows right from the start, don't sweat it, don't get offended, and don't let it ruin IHSA for you. It's a ton of fun, you make great friends, learn a lot, and I am so glad I participated. They'll see how well you ride and will teach appropriate lessons to you, which is what really matters in the long run, and if your equitation is good you'll breeze through the levels quickly, like I did.

Also, while you compete for individual points, there's also a team aspect involved, and from your coach's standpoint, he'd love to have someone in a lower level who actually has more skill because you'll place better at shows and will therefore score more points for the team if you're the point rider. Some coaches will actually hold riders back by not letting them point up to the next level because they want to 'save' them for the team classes. The coach also takes in to mind how many people he has in each division when placing you - yes, he could manually place you higher, but if he already has too many people in Novice, let's say, and he only has a few people in WTC, then you're more valuable to the team in WTC, and you'd get more opportunities to show if you're not competing for spots against a ton of other riders.

Some colleges also offer opportunities to show at non-IHSA shows, so that could be a way for you to show reining too. Or maybe you can still take reining lessons even if you're not in the Open division.

I was in the Open division by the time I graduated, and I sort of missed my days in the lower divisions - I wound up regional Walk Trot Canter champion my first year, and I breezed through Novice with all 1st places and maybe two 2nds. It was awesome, actually.

If you're getting hung up on/offended by being placed "below" your level, you're doing IHSA for the wrong reasons. You'll learn a ton, become a better rider, have a TON of fun, and make some great friends. That's why you should do it.


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## littlestars (Sep 23, 2014)

It's not so much the level I'm not too happy about, it's what comes with it. 

I know that I would become a better rider in general by riding different horses for each show, but 'general' doesn't help if I loose skills that are important to my real discipline. If I chose not to ride with the team for shows, I would still be riding with the team for lessons, still have the chance to make friendships and all, I just wouldn't be paying the money for an extra lesson each week and for showing. Still have one weekly lesson and access to team horses to ride whenever. Aka >$1,000 to not show or $2,000+ to show in western pleasure, which I don't find fun  only difference being the shows. Pattern based at any level, I'm fine with. Western pleasure based I'm not.

If I do WP based work all year, what happens when I come home and am expected to go back to training reiners? Even after only a month you begin to loose the muscles that keep you sitting the stops well (I know this from experience... Spent a while fixing lead changes with no stops from faster than a lope, I lost so much muscle I couldn't sit the stop properly for another month or so) What happens when I've been riding big circles and slow transitions for a year when I need to be able to sit a fast spin and quick turns? Three months of summer and at least one would be spent catching up if I spend the year in equitation/WP circle based work rather than patterns... 

Ribbons don't matter to me, improving does, and having gone times without working reining maneuvers on 'finished' horses the improvement I gained from those time paled in comparison to what I lost and the time needed to fix it. 

Is it really worth it to pay an extra thousand dollars to show when I can still get all the riding, all the time with team mates, pretty much everything but ribbons for less? Is showing how you guys improved, or was it more the lessons?


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

My western IHSA team had some brilliant advice: 

"Place low. Placing low in the beginning lets you get used to the style and people on the team as well as the flow of things. Also you can really get more of a sense of achievement because you're excelling and can see progress." 

I went to that division because of that reason, even though I was capable of going higher. Trust me, it was worth it and gave me a nice 'adjustment' period where I could make friends, connections (both business and personal) and get used to how IHSA shows were run. Ultimately it's up to you but just be upfront with the coach and other members about your concerns. And as someone who also dislikes rail classes, IHSA is a different ball game. You're not just plodding along a rail: you're trying to figure out the horse your riding.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

Incitatus32 said:


> My western IHSA team had some brilliant advice:
> 
> "Place low. Placing low in the beginning lets you get used to the style and people on the team as well as the flow of things. Also you can really get more of a sense of achievement because you're excelling and can see progress."
> 
> I went to that division because of that reason, even though I was capable of going higher. Trust me, it was worth it and gave me a nice 'adjustment' period where I could make friends, connections (both business and personal) and get used to how IHSA shows were run. Ultimately it's up to you but just be upfront with the coach and other members about your concerns. And as someone who also dislikes rail classes, IHSA is a different ball game. You're not just plodding along a rail: you're trying to figure out the horse your riding.


Just wanted to add that you won't lose the skills you have. You'll just expand upon them by doing this. You'll use them about as much on a rail class as you will in a reining ring. ;-)


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## littlestars (Sep 23, 2014)

Incitatus32 said:


> And as someone who also dislikes rail classes, IHSA is a different ball game. You're not just plodding along a rail: you're trying to figure out the horse your riding.


Ah, that is a much better way of thinking about it 

How is it possible to keep skills like a nice sliding stop seat though? I've started loosing those muscles when going without stopping hard for a month much less two semesters.. Still riding, still fencing even just no slides.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

littlestars said:


> Ah, that is a much better way of thinking about it
> 
> How is it possible to keep skills like a nice sliding stop seat though? I've started loosing those muscles when going without stopping hard for a month much less two semesters.. Still riding, still fencing even just no slides.


Sit ups


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I'm on my school's IHSA team. I own my own horses and completely started one of them from scratch and have done all of her training. However, I have not had any sort of lessons or showing experience, so, per the IHSA rules, I place at beginner (level 11), which is just walk/trot. I just pointed out of it to 12A yesterday. 

That was completely fair, IMO. Horsemanship is 100% nothing like my casual riding style and has taken me a lot of work to place well in my little 11 classes. I have learned a ton and appreciate it. I'm actually almost bummed that I have to worry about leads and whatnot for my next show because I was enjoying just walking and trotting.

Riding reiners is much different than riding horsemanship. I've ridden reiners too. If you sat horsemanship position on some legitimate reiners, you'd fly right off the side. I think you should accept your lower level and LEARN horsemanship position. We have a team penner on our team who has gone to the world show. She is in 12B and has had to work very hard to achieve a good horsemanship position because she is used to riding cowhorses. 

It's not insulting to you at all, IMO. It's just a completely different style that has to be taught.

ETA: I should also add that I actually hate WP. I just like my team and showing as a team rather than individually. I don't own show horses. I own a ranchy APHA mare and a Fjord that are great trail horses. They aren't trained to do anything special other than be trail pros. I have ridden broke broke broke frequent-class-winning WP horses and they're boring.


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