CU Equestrian National Tournament-Bound After IHSA Success

By Audrey Tobin

After a very competitive season of competition, The University of Colorado at Boulder bested Colorado College to win Region 1, Zone 7 of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The points race for these two schools came down to a single horse show on March 14, 2009 hosted at Tracey PowersGÇÖ beautiful facility in Fountain, CO.

The IHSA is an organization that enables college students to continue with their riding careers while still allowing time and money for their education. In IHSA competitions, riders with skill levels that vary from walk-trot to open over fences (3GÇÖ) compete on loaned horses from the host school. This tests the capability of riders to adapt to unfamiliar horses and sets a level playing field for each rider.

IHSA is similar to USEF in that it splits the country into zones, but within each zone, there are regions. CU is part of Zone 7 Region 1, along with numerous other schools from the surrounding states, including Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming. In order to determine rankings of teams within the region, points are tallied throughout the year for each team. At every show a rider from each team, in all divisions is chosen by their coach to be a GÇ£point riderGÇ¥. The points earned by these GÇ£point ridersGÇ¥ are added up at the end of the show and awarded to their team. At the end of the season all of these points are added up and the team with the most points wins the region and goes on to compete against the winners from the other regions at Zone Finals. This year the University of Colorado, under the coaching of Jill Pelzel, won Zone 7 Region 1. Colorado College, under Coach Tracey Powers, was reserve. CU will compete at Zones on April 5th against West Texas A & M. The school that wins the head to head competition will go on to Nationals in Marlboro, Tennessee at the end of April.

The team aspect of IHSA is very unique, but IHSA also allows for individual competition. At the beginning of a riderGÇÖs IHSA career an evaluation takes place in order to determine the division in which the rider will compete. This evaluation is based on the riderGÇÖs show career, experience, and an evaluation from the coach. This assessment encourages equal skill levels among riders. Once placed in a division, riders can accumulate points to move on to the next division and to qualify for individual competition at the Regional, Zone, and National levels. CU is proud to have the Regional Individual High Point winner, Audrey Tobin, who qualifies to compete in a special class at Nationals. Additionally, CU had seven riders qualify for Regional Finals. Six of the seven riders competed in Firestone at Zone Finals. Winners in these divisions, including Audrey Tobin, Lauren Kendle, and Jordan Olmsted of CU Boulder will also make the trip to Tennessee. With lots of practice under their belts, CU heads off to continue one of the best seasons in club history. GO BUFFS!

For more information about college riding programs, visit the IHSA website at www.IHSAINC.com or contact schools directly about their programs.

Colorado University Athletics

CU Equestrian National Tournament-Bound After IHSA Success