# IEA tips and stories?



## Cinder (Feb 20, 2011)

I have my first IEA (interscholastic equestrian association) show this Saturday. I am very excited, but nervous! I have only ever been to one/two real shows (depending on if you count fun barn shows) and that has been where I know the school horse I am riding ahead of time. 

So, for those who have participated: tips are appreciated, as are stories of past experiences  

I will update this thread with my results and pictures after I go to the show


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## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

Subscribing! I hope to get into IEA In a few years


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## live2ride8 (Mar 13, 2011)

Well this is my first year being on an IEA team and I totally love it! My team has only been to one show so far but I've picked up a thing or two. Firstly, they'll warm up all the horses available to draw in front of you. Pay close attention. Our team even had a notebok to take notes on the horses (they'll all have numbers on their saddle pads). You will be provided with a sheet that has details about all the horses like size and a few words about how they ride but it's always good to have as much information as possible. After you draw, you'll get a warmup on your over fences horse before you go in to show. This is two fences and it's really important to use these fences to asses your horse's stride and rideability. Go ahead and set the pace you want your judged course to go at, don't let your horse crawl along at his own pace. I was lucky because I got to watch my draw jump a course with the girl before me and my trainer and I devised a plan for how I would ride the course. Oh and speaking of courses, you also get to walk your course ahead of time to get the idea of striding and paths to take. On an unfarmiliar horse, my team normally does the add down the lines unless we draw a horse with a large stride. Your horse handler may also tell you something about your horse as they walk you to the ring, just pay attention to everything people tell you. For your flat class you don't get any kind of warmup on your horse, they throw you up there and stick you in the ring. Pay attention as the show goes along though, because horses rarely only go once so you may be able to watch your horse go with someone else. A thing that a lot of people had problems with in the flat was canter leads and a lot of people dropped placings in the flat from blowing one. Avoid it at all costs as I saw at least one missed lead in every class and getting all your leads is a good way to make sure you place competitively. 
In the way of preparing before you get to the show, I'd say the most valuble thing you can do is sit on as many different horses as possible. If all you ride is pokey lesson horses or little ponies, it's going to be more difficult for you to adjust to an unkown horse. I've ridden tons of different lesson and client horses with my trainer the past year or so and it really helped me feel more confident walking into the ring too as I knew I could handle a greener or wuicker horse. 
But all strategy aside its super fun and I'm so glad I get to do it my senior year. It's so great to have a team that you can support and feed off of and you'll find that you bond really quick with everyone and have tons of fun! What zone and division are you in? Hope this helped!


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## Cinder (Feb 20, 2011)

Thanks for the awesome reply, livetoride8! I'm in zone 2 and I'm doing the cross-rails


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