College Varsity Equestrian Teams Attract Legions Of Hopefuls

Growing numbers of young riders are striving to be recruited by prestigious NCAA-sanctioned squads.

The eighth annual Varsity Equestrian National Championships held in Texas on April 16-18 provided, as usual, a dramatic showcase of some of the country’s most talented young riders competing in a head-to-head format on unfamiliar mounts. (See VENC coverage in the May 15 issue.)

No single Varsity Equestrian event during the year offers a better display of what the burgeoning organization is all about than the VENC, which features the 12 top-seeded teams in Hunter Seat (equitation over fences and on the flat) and Western (horsemanship and reining).