Collegiate Horse Shows

The IHSA was developed to allow student riders of any skill level or economic background to be able to compete and succeed at their own levels of skill and experience. There are classes designed on specific experience levels, from Beginner Walk-Trot to Open, in four disciplines -- hunter equitation, equitation over fences, western horsemanship and reining. College horse shows are like "meets", with all teams from the region invited to compete against each other simultaneously. The national average region includes about eleven colleges, 225 total riders, and competes in 8.6 horse shows per year. Only about two-thirds of the regions offer competition in western horsemanship. There are now 30 regions and 9 zones, encompassing 48 states, 7000+ riders and over 300 teams!

Horses and Tack

Teams do not move horses to shows. Riders from all colleges ride horses provided by the host college, drawing lots for mounts. Riders draw whatever tack happens to be on the horse they've drawn. There is no schooling time; riders mount, adjust stirrups, and ride in before the judge.

The Judges & Show Locations

All IHSA shows are judged by USEF Hunter Seat Equitation approved judges or AQHA judges for western horsemanship and reining. The locations and dates of shows are determined by the Regional President and are widely variable from one region to the next. In the northeast most shows are indoors and are held throughout the school year, while in the Rocky Mountain states shows are in the fall and spring so as to avoid winter travel, and the south and west commonly have outdoor shows.

Individual Scoring

Each ribbon is worth a point value to the winner. When a rider scores enough points to qualify for the regional championships, he or she moves to the next higher level for the remainder of the year, returning to compete at the lower level at Regionals. Top riders at Regionals advance to the Zone Championships, and top riders at Zones advance to the IHSA National Championships at each year end.

· First place ribbon is worth seven points
· Second place is five points
· Third is four
· Fourth is three
· Fifth is two
· Sixth is one.

It takes thirty five points to qualify for Regionals and move up to the next higher class level. The points accumulated carry over from one year to the next. So, a team can be started in the middle of the year and competitors will still receive some benefit from a partial year of competition.

Team Scoring

At each show during the year, coaches select one rider from each division to compete on behalf of their college. Those scores are totaled to select a Champion Team each show. The scores are cumulative throughout the year, and the high point team at the end of the last show is named the Regional Champion Team. Regional Champions advance to the Zone Championships and the top teams from Zones advance to Nationals. Each Zone is invited to send a different number of teams to Nationals, based on the number of individual members in the Zone. Therefore, the bigger Zones enter more teams at Nationals. National team competition follows the same format, with one rider from each division representing each team against the other Zone Champion teams. National team competition is held in separate classes from the individual competition at the National Championships, and is referenced by the trophy names -- Collegiate Cup (hunter), and AQHA Trophy (western).