Introduction, explanation

Hello, hello!

I am Hannah, and this is my blog about the Ohio University Equestrian Team (Hunt). I've been riding on the team ever since I was a shy little freshman, and this is my last quarter of both school and riding on the team. Graduating from college is a scary thought, but what scares me the most is how much I'm going to miss the team, our coach and, of course, the horses.

But let's get down to business. We've got a lot to cover.

I'm going to go ahead and assume that you, dear reader, know absolutely nothing about horses, horse showing, or the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. If you happen to be an expert in these areas, please just gloss over all of this.

The Equestrian Team is a club sport here at OU. That means that anyone can join, we are self-governed, and we don't get mountains of money from the university. This also means that we are not in the NCAA, so we show in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). IHSA horse shows work a lot differently than normal shows, but we'll get to that in a minute.

I ride on the Hunt Team, which is the English style of riding. (Think jumping, fox hunting, what you see in the Olympics, etc. Basically, we're not cowgirls.) OU also has a Western team, but we'll focus on the hunt seat to keep it simple. Under the hunt discipline, IHSA has chosen for us to all ride equitation. This means that the rider is judged, rather than the horse. The rider must expertly ride her horse with grace and style, and any mistakes the horse appears to make are usually considered to be the rider's fault.

The reason IHSA has chosen equitation is because of the way the shows are run. In a normal horse showing situation all of the competitors bring their own horses on which to compete. They have been riding and practicing and training hard for the competition. The horse and rider have probably established a strong bond.

However, at an IHSA show, the school that is hosting the event provides the horses. Each rider must draw a horse out of a hat, get on the horse, and, having never ridden this horse before (unless, of course, her school is hosting the show), the rider will have to compete in a flat class or over fences.

Wait, flat? Over fences? What the heck?
Yes, I know, it's complicated. Bear with me, we're almost finished.

A flat class is simple -- the riders walk, trot and canter their horses around the arena while the judge watches. Occasionally the judges will choose to test the riders by making them drop their stirrups, or giving them a pattern to execute, or basically telling the riders to do whatever they want (when you are in the show ring, you do whatever the judge wants).

An over-fences class is more challenging. The riders are judged as they jump their horse over a course of 7 or 8 obstacles. The riders need to have good form over the fences, get their horses to the ideal take-off spot at each fence, as well as execute lead changes (flying or simple) when necessary.

All right, I know I just barfed a ton of information on you.

Here is a video that might make this a little more clear.
It is of me riding at Lake Erie College in a show last winter. I was riding Terrabella, a Thoroughbred mare, in the Intermediate over-fences division.



It was a decent enough ride to get me 2nd place.
Did you catch what cost me the blue ribbon?