During the past several weeks I have been to many different horse shows from Florida to New York these shows have encompassed everything from the “A” shows to schooling shows. Over that time period I have had the opportunity to speak to many parents and riders about the college recruiting process. I am hoping to clear up some misconceptions in this article about the level of riders that make it onto the college teams.
As far as the NCAA is concerned, it is true that they are seeking the riders who compete and do well at the 3’6” level. However, what many riders do not realize is that not all of the most successful riders wish to ride for an NCAA school. Under NCAA rules the summer before you begin your college career you can no longer win prize money at a horse show. This rule will remain in effect as long as you are competing in college. I spoke personally to some very prominent trainers that told me that their child would not even consider an NCAA school for this reason. This opens the door for the 3’6” rider who does not wish to compete on the “A” circuit while in college. For this reason do not sell your self short thinking only the best Maclay riders get recruited to NCAA schools, many of the best riders have their eyes on an IHSA riding program or do not plan on riding in college at all.
As far as the IHSA teams are concerned, they are looking for riders from beginner walk trot through the advanced riders. This is where many parents and riders were surprised. They all assumed that only the “A” show kids would ever be recruited by a college riding team. When I explained that the beginner rider is just as important to the team as the advanced rider in IHSA competitions, they were elated. Many of them never even thought that their child, who has only shown at schooling shows competing in the 2’6” division, should even consider trying out. In fact, these are just the types of riders that coaches are looking for. The IHSA coach loves to find the very experienced local rider that just never had the funds to burn up the “circuit”
So if you are interested in riding in one of the college programs you must be proactive in your approach. If you are a hard worker and are a good rider, even though you may not have tons of show experience go ahead and put a video together along with a resume, send it to some schools that you may be interested in and profile yourself on EquestrianCollegeRecruiter.com. Remember the coaches do not have the time or resources to scour the country looking for good riders competing at schooling shows. Yes they may be at some of the “A” shows competing with their teams and they may be looking for talented riders. However NCAA coaches can not approach you at a horse show unless they are certain of your age and that information is often not available to them in the show office because of privacy laws and they can not risk a recruiting violation. Many riders therefore think “Oh well, I haven’t been contacted by any schools so I must not be good enough”, it is your job as a potential recruit to make yourself known to the coaches. There are several methods of accomplishing this task; Miss Denna Johnson holds a College Bound Horse Show in Florida each year which is held in a college horse show format. The weekend is very informative and is attended by college coaches looking for new talent. The Equestrian Talent Search is an educational clinic and rider rating system combined, designed to educate riders and parents about all the options available in collegiate and high school riding. The newest tool for being recruited is the website I built because of the difficulties my son and I faced learning about equestrian college recruiting, EquestrianCollegeRecruiter.com, where equestrian athletes post an academic/riding resume along with photos and full video. This allows coaches to peruse the site at their leisure and contact athletes directly. The site also has information about all of the college riding organizations in one convenient spot so you can use it as a portal to learn about all of the colleges that have riding programs. From the site you can also visit individual school websites, fill out their recruiting forms, inform them that your profile is posted on EquestrianCollegeRecruiter.com and on which graduation year page you are located. In any case sell yourself, brag about your accomplishments however small you feel they may be. You may just be the next diamond in the rough that becomes a collegiate riding star.
Mike Imparato
www.EquestrianCollegeRecruiter.com
mike@equestriancollegerecruiter.com
