For all of our readers from Florida. Let your Bright Futures Scholarship money pay for most of your college education at the College of Central Florida. The college offers degrees in different equine programs and is located in Ocala. Visit www.cf.edu/equine for more in fo.
Posts Tagged ‘college’
College Of Central Florida now offers Equine Degrees
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010Do you ride well enough to compete on a college equestrian team?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009During 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
The difference between the IHSA and The NCAA riding programs.
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Thinking about riding in college? Take a few minutes now to learn the differences between the two largest college riding organizations, the IHSA and the NCAA
The IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Show Association) is the oldest and largest nationally competitive college riding program in the United States.
Founded in 1967 by Bob Cacchione, the IHSA was the first to make equestrian sports part of the college experience for male and female students in a manner that is fun, affordable, educational and competitive. Numerous Olympic riders, including Greg Best and Beezie Madden are alumni of IHSA. Each year over 8,000 IHSA riders of all skill levels from over 360 colleges compete individually and as teams at regional, zone, and national championship levels.
There are no recruiting guidelines in the IHSA regarding amateur status. You can be a professional, earn prize money at horse shows, give lessons, sell horses for profit and still ride on an IHSA team. The IHSA coaches and prospective riders have no limits placed on them with regards to contacting each other and prospective riders can visit schools without restriction. Prospective athletes that are hoping for a scholarship need to realize that good grades and good SAT/ACT scores are just as important as your riding ability.
Eliminating the expense of shipping or even owning horses puts IHSA competitions within reach of many who would otherwise miss the equestrian experience while in college. This is an all inclusive program open to riders of all skill levels and socio/economic backgrounds. Competitions offer classes for beginning to advanced riders; in Hunter Seat Equitation there are eight levels of Hunter Seat riding – beginner walk-trot through open where Medal /Maclay riders are sought and in Western Horsemanship and Reining there are six levels of Western Riding – beginner through open/Reining. Teams may be student run “club “teams or be a part of a college’s athletic program the difference between the two usually breaks down to how much the college financially supports the team. Club sport teams are entitled to compete at all IHSA competitions but in most cases the riders receive little or no financial assistance from the school. There are some colleges however who help with lesson expense and many of the teams hold fundraisers to help offset expenses. Many of the colleges with degreed programs in equine-related fields have school supported IHSA teams and offer athletic and academic scholarships for riding. The IHSA allows and encourages alumni participation all the way to the national championship.
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has been around for a very long time and is the governing body for all varsity athletics in the United States. In 1998, equestrian was classified as an NCAA emerging sport. Many people within the horse industry have united together to help advance the sport to full NCAA championship status. In order to attain this goal and hold a NCAA Equestrian Championship, there must be 40 Division I/II schools that sponsor equestrian as a varsity level program. Currently 23 colleges and universities offer equestrian as a varsity sport and more continue to add the program each year.
The NCAA schools decided to make Equestrian riding a woman’s sport; this helps the colleges satisfy the mandates set forth in Title IX in which the courts ruled that colleges must spend an equal amount of money on scholarships for female athletes as they do the male athletes. For this reason the NCAA schools only have female riders on their teams. The NCAA schools have both English and Western teams and they tend to look for the more advanced riders who have a great deal of show experience. All NCAA equestrian programs offer up to 15 scholarships that they can award either as full rides or partial rides paired up with academic scholarships and or financial aid.
The NCAA has a very strict set of rules to follow; some of these are listed below, however for a full understanding you should go the NCAA web site and familiarize yourself with all the rules. One thing you might notice is that NCAA schools do not advertise their riding programs; this is one of the NCAA rules. Another major rule you should be aware of is; if you are interested in qualifying for an NCAA scholarship you must first register with the NCAA clearing house. This is done by having your high school guidance counselor fill out form 48H and send it to the NCAA, you must also have your SAT and ACT scores sent directly to the NCAA Clearinghouse, test scores on an official high school transcript are no longer accepted.
Riders must be considered and amateur in order to be considered for recruitment The NCAA also has very strict amateur rules; they are actually stricter than most equestrian governing bodies. One question you may ask is; will my winnings affect my amateur status? The answer is YES! It is recommended that prospective students keep a record of expenses and winnings for all shows. Prior to enrollment at a university, winnings can not exceed the dollar value of your actual expenses related to that competition, during college no prize money is allowed to be received. Strangely enough according to the NCAA varsity equestrian web site, teaching lessons does not affect your amateur status with the NCAA as long as payment was comparable to the going rate. It is important to note that amateur status for the NCAA differs from that of the AQHA and USEF. For more information you may call the NCAA Clearing house directly by calling 1-877-262-1492 or visit the NCAA web site
There are also very strict rules concerning contacts by the college coaches, school visits etc., you, as a prospective student, should familiarize yourself with these rules since breaking them will effect your eligibility. There are NCAA equestrian teams in both Division 1 and 2 schools and their recruiting guidelines must be followed to the letter… I can not stress enough that the NCAA and IHSA teams are also looking for very strong academics as well as good riding ability. It is very important to have good SAT or ACT scores and a respectable GPA.
In both organizations the host colleges provide horses and tack. Horses are chosen by random draw and riders do not have the opportunity to warm up or test a horse over a jump before entering the show ring. Riders are judged in accordance with USEF/USHJA/AQHA/NRHA rules.
If you would like to read more about each organization you can visit the NCAA Varsity Equestrian website at http://www.varsityequestrian.com/ or the IHSA website at http://www.ihsainc.com/. You can also visit www.equestriancollegerecruiter and read about the equestrian college recruiting process in detail.
Michael Imparato
EquestrianCollegeRecruiter.com
