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The difference between the IHSA and The NCAA riding programs.
September 15th, 2009 Thinking 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