# Equestrian Teams in college



## Draftgirl17 (Dec 26, 2009)

Okay so when i go to college i certainly want to keep up with doing things with horses. Depending on which school i decide to go to i'd probably still come home if not commute so i'd still be doing stuff with my haffies. However i'm looking into equestrian clubs.
So far 4 out of the 5 schools i've applied to i have found equestrian clubs/teams for
-Bucknell
-Wooster
-St. Vincent
-Clarion
And Harvard may have one (i'm still not 100% sure)
So i was wondering if anyone had any more info on any of these places. Are there any ones that are better than others? More supportive? More options? Cheaper? And for these types of things what are the typical fees. I'm a just very curious and certainly want to know my full range of options. I have just realized i have a true passion for horses and doing things with horses as far as showing goes. So any info you guys have will be very welcome!


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

Don't know squat about the schools you've posted...

But next year I will be attending a small school called Midway College in Midway, Kentucky. It has a western, hunt seat, and dressage team. You can be on multiple teams and since they are in KY, eventing is great out there. 

I plan on being on the hunt seat team and maybe the dressage team down the road. 

check it out! 

Midway College, Midway, KY | Midway College | Midway College


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

There's a very big difference between an equestrian TEAM and equestrian CLUB. Usually a club is a gathering of horse lovers who do anything from ride together, get in guest speakers, perhaps volunteer at rescues.... And equestrian team is a sport, usually through IHSA or NCAA. It can be very very competitive at your school and often you have to try out to make the team. I would find out who the director in charge is and get more information about what the school has to offer. 

check out Intercollegiate Horse Show Association: Home for info on IHSA!


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## juju (Oct 8, 2008)

haha! I was just about to start I thread about this too! I have been look into this for a while now and i have been home sick so the past few days have allowed me to do a lot of research! Please know that this is only what i have researched, my idea of how it all works! 

There are several different ways and organizations. 
NCAA - 23 (maybe) schools, only girls allowed in Division 1, considered a varsity sport, most competitive, many rules about recruiting and competing - you may not earn money as a rider before/in college, each college may only hand out 15 scholarships for riding, must have advanced level of riding

IHSA - many more schools, largest organizations, welcomes all levels of riding, may hand out any number of scholarships, boys & girls allowed, does NOT have to be a team - can be a club*, has both western and english
*clubs are generally not sponsored by the school and you have to pay your own way, no scholarships are generally offered, coach has no say in recruiting, smaller, less competetive, more for fun

IDA - dressage only, offers scholarships, haven't researched as much so if anyone has info that would be great!

I have also found a great website. I suggest looking at it -http://www.equestriancollegerecruiter.com/

I would also make sure you look into how each program is run. I am currently a member of IEA (interscholastic equestrian association) and that has given me a lot of insight in to how college shows are run. I believe that all organizations have the same basic idea but they allow different warm-up times...i might be wrong...

Let me know if i can help and more. I will be interested in what everyone else says.


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## Draftgirl17 (Dec 26, 2009)

All of the schools i looked at do both riding lessons and no competing and then they have a team that competes. Some schools choose to post it under their sports and some do it under student organizations.
Some of those schools have various teams and some only have huntseat. I was wondering how much they tend to cost to do them because at all of the ones i looked at they don't provide a whole lot of info, some more than others. What should i be looking for in a good equestrian team/club?


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## Draftgirl17 (Dec 26, 2009)

Would it help if i posted their websites?


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## juju (Oct 8, 2008)

I will try to help but I want to say that I am in the same spot you are...looking at colleges and trying to figure it all out  

I think that it really depends on what YOU want to do in college. Do you want to be showing every weekend? Do you want a team that is big? Do you want a team that is focused on fun or more competitive? Do you want to do english, western or dressage? 
The cost will REALLY vary depending on were you decide to go. As far as I have found, all colleges expect you to provide your own riding clothes although some have a 2nd hand system. Lessons, shows, etc depend on the "rank" of the club. As you mentioned, some teams are located on the school's athletics website, or their own. I have found that that is often a tale tell sign of the "rank" of the club and how much the school sponsor's the club. 
If the school is really into riding, they will often pay for most everything. 

Let me know if i can help anymore! I have to go write a research paper


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## Silversun (Feb 5, 2010)

Yes I am VERY interested in finding schools with riding TEAMS, but I want schools on the west coast. (IM TIRED OF THE EAST COAST COLD!)
any suggestions?


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## juju (Oct 8, 2008)

I would go onto the website i suggested earlier...there is a page on there with a list of all the colleges. It is organized by the organization(s) the college is involved with...some are clubs though....
Here is the page on the site....i really suggest looking at the site since it has a TON of good info!
Equestrian College Recruiter

While i've been searching, i have the "College Board" website up so i can plug the college's name in and see if i like the college itself, how my grades compare, etc.
Now I reallllly need to stop procrastinating and work on this STUPID research paper


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## Draftgirl17 (Dec 26, 2009)

I am really not sure which discpline i'd do. Any of them are fine to me but i'd say either english or western. The nice thing is i do have the clothes and everything (though for St. Vincent i'd have to get a green coat and yellow rat catcher) Which is nice. I will def. have to check out their rank. Thanks all for the help so far!!


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