Rider Division Placement —Key to a Successful IEA/IHSA Experience

For riders new to IEA or IHSA, the first key to a successful IEA/IHSA experience is getting yourself placed into the correct showing division right from the start, which is determined by your riding and showing experience. 

The IEA hunt seat divisions are:

• Beginner (flat only)
• Novice (crossrails and flat)
• Intermediate (2’ fences and flat)
• Open (2’6” fences and flat)

 The IHSA hunt seat divisions are:

• Walk/Trot (flat only)
• Walk/Trot/Canter (flat only, subdivided into beginner and advanced)
• Novice (2’3” to 2’9” fences and flat)
• Intermediate (2’6” to 3’ fences and flat)
• Open (2’9” to 3’3” fences and flat)

To be competitive, an IEA/IHSA team needs at least one rider in each division, and the points earned in the lower divisions count just as much as the points earned in the upper divisions.  So a first place ribbon, whether in open fences or beginner flat, earns the same number of points for the team.

The beauty of this set-up is that you don’t need to be the top rider in the country to be competitive in IEA/IHSA horse shows, you just need to be able to compete successfully in your division against students with riding and showing experience similar to your own. 

I find that many riders new to the IEA/IHSA want to be placed in the highest division.  However, the most successful IEA/IHSA riders are those who figure out that it is better to be the strongest rider in a lower division, than the weakest rider in a higher division.   It is also a whole lot more fun to start in a lower division and “win your way up” to a higher division by winning ribbons and earning points, rather than to be assigned to a division that is too high for your experience level and not being able to bring home a ribbon.

So how do you ensure that you are placed correctly?  Here are a few tips:

First, know your riding and showing history, including:

• How many years you have been taking formal lessons
• Which shows you have attended
• Whether those shows are rated or not
• Which divisions/fence heights you have competed in

Riders are placed into their IEA/IHSA division based on these criteria, so it’s important to know the answers to these questions when you sit down with your coach to discuss your division placement.

A question I am often asked is, what does “rated” mean?  Some horse shows are rated by a national horse show or breed organization (such as AQHA, APHA, USEF, USDF, or USEA), some are rated by a local organization (i.e. State Hunter Jumper Associations), and some hold no rating at all (local barn or saddle club shows). 

Whether the shows you have attended are nationally rated or not makes a difference in your division placement.  If you aren’t sure if a particular show you attended was rated, you can contact the organization and ask.  The major nationally rated organizations keep records of who has competed in their shows and they can provide you with a “rider report” listing all of the classes you have competed in and how you placed. 

Second, be accurate and truthful when discussing your riding and showing history with your coach.  I know riders want to impress their new coach, but here in the internet age everything is documented and it’s really easy for a coach to look up your show results.   So answer the questions you are asked as fully and honestly as you can, but don’t embellish.  Your coach wants you to be the strongest rider in your division, and embellishing your resume is the easiest way to end up placed in a division too high for your experience level.

 

Also, don’t feel pressured to have experience at the top levels of the sport.  It is perfectly okay if you spent your junior years showing in long stirrup because your horse was older and not able to jump any higher than 2’3”, or if you stayed in crossrails or mini-hunter because you didn’t own a horse and did your showing on a lesson mount.  

Remember, in IEA and IHSA shows, points earned in the lower divisions count just as much as those earned in the upper divisions.

Knowing your riding and showing history and being accurate and truthful when answering questions is the first step toward being competitive in IEA/IHSA riding because it will ensure you are placed into a division suitable to your experience level.

Amanda Garner is an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) steward, schooling show judge, head coach of the University of North Georgia IHSA Equestrian Team, and owner of Epiphany Farm, LLC in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is also a member of the IEA Board of Directors and the author of "A Parent's Guide to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association."

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Thanks!  --Amanda

photo credit Dede Chase