While more than 300 schools nationwide compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, the “other” equestrian program, forged by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, is gaining in strength and numbers.
   
Larry Sanchez, chairman of the NCAA Varsity Equestrian Steering Committee and the head coach of the Oklahoma State Equestrian Team, said the sport is becoming much more mainstream amongst NCAA division I and II athletic programs. “There were 11 schools three years ago, and there’s currently 24,” he said. “You’re seeing the growth.”

In order for equestrian to be deemed a full-fledged NCAA sport, 40 schools across the country must proffer teams. As a precursor to an officially sanctioned NCAA national championship, many of the charter schools have been competing for the past few years in the Varsity Equestrian National Championships, a competition designed and run completely to NCAA standards, so that by the time the sport is fully recognized, “we’ll have a perfect working model,” said Sanchez, who has also served on the IHSA Board of Directors in the past.

In 2006, some changes affected college equestrian teams. In the post-season, NCAA rules state that teams may not compete in more than one national championship, but because equestrian isn’t fully sanctioned yet and therefore has no official national final, a waiver allowed schools to compete in both the IHSA nationals and the VENC. But Sanchez said the waiver expired in 2006 and wasn’t renewed, which forced schools to choose only one national championship to attend.

This shift, in combination with the needs of many schools to provide more women’s sports in compliance with Title IX, has bolstered equestrian as a college sport.

In fact, according to Sanchez, it’s the fastest-growing discipline amongst the NCAA’s list of emerging sports, which also includes rugby, archery and synchronized swimming. There’s no specific deadline for the 40-school quota, but he believes that the goal will be reached within the next few years.

Something Old, Something New
The University of Georgia has become a prime example of team triumph within just a few short years. Hoping to transition their well-established IHSA club team to a full-fledged NCAA varsity squad in the fall of 2001, the school hired Meghan Boenig as head coach.

After serving as an assistant coach for the Texas A&M equestrian team, Boenig drew from the IHSA squad’s resources to form her inaugural team. She said the two groups are still tightly linked and mutually supportive, attending one another’s tryouts, meetings and competitions.

“We started with six horses and 24 riders,” said Boenig, “and within a year we were up to 24 horses and 60 riders. We’re staying very competitive. We have a very, very good pool of riders here.”

The current 65-member team now has 52 horses, most of which have been donated to the program.
For a program still technically in its infancy, the Bulldogs have had plenty of success, winning two national championships and one reserve title in their first three years at the VENC. They have thrice won the Southern Equestrian Championships and have had three undefeated seasons on their home turf.

Southeastern Conference rivals Auburn (Ala.) and South Carolina have proven good competition for the Georgia team, which now employs four full-time staff members, including assistant coach Carly Veldman, a former team athlete who grad-uated in May 2006. In addition, Boenig said the program has the land and money to construct a state-of-the-art equestrian facility within the next few years. The venue will include a new barn, arenas and pastures, as well as locker rooms and offices for athletes and staff.

After impressive showings in the past, a fourth-placed overall finish at the 2006 VENC was unexpected by many in the Georgia camp, but served to illustrate the sport’s growing popularity and quality. With more schools joining the fray each year, Boenig noted that recruiting future riders is becoming increasingly more aggressive, particularly more so within the past 12 months.

“We have a little bit of an advantage being on the East Coast. There’s a lot of East Coast draw, which is why I think you see a lot of SEC schools being dominant in the hunt seat division,” said Boenig.

“We always have such a fantastic pool of riders here in Georgia,” she continued, noting that her team does hold open tryouts each season, but because the majority of athletes are now recruited, they only offer one or two walk-on spots per year. “It’s just very, very competitive, and it’s very hard to say no.”

Boenig said she scouts riders at the National Horse Show (Fla.), HITS Ocala (Fla.) and the Atlanta Classic (Ga.), and invites her top 10 recruits for official campus visits each year.

About 50 percent of Georgia’s riders are from out-of-state, including graduate student Logan Fiorentino, who was recruited from Adelphi University in New York her junior year.

“I took a year and a half off after I finished the Maclay Finals [in 2002],” said Fiorentino, a former student of Scott Stewart and Frank Madden. “I decided I wanted to ride again, and my Dad laughed at me and told me I better find someone else to pay for it!”

While visiting her sister, a swimmer at the University of South Carolina, Fiorentino began looking into riding teams in the SEC, finally settling on Georgia. “Equestrian was actually what got me here,” she said. “It was a blessing that my major [sports management] was also available. I didn’t play another sport in high school, so this was an opportunity for me to feel like a part of something on a team in a sport that is usually so individual.”

Fiorentino, like most of Georgia’s riders, receives a partial athletic scholarship. The NCAA allows each team 15 full scholarships, but most schools choose to split the money up amongst as many athletes as possible.

“I think that considering equestrian is still classified as an emerging sport with the NCAA, the Georgia Athletic Association is very generous. They always give us all we need,” she said.

Riders on the team are afforded special tutors and advisors, a strength and conditioning trainer, access to a private athletic center and other perks.

New Kids On The Block
Unlike the SEC powerhouses, smaller schools in the Northeast are still transitioning to the NCAA format. Sloan Milstein signed on as head coach at Sacred Heart University (Conn.) last year and is currently navigating her team through the transition.

“This is the first year where the selection process has changed over to where you have to compete in five head-to-head competitions to even be considered for NCAA nationals,” Milstein said. “[This year] we’re continuing through the IHSA program for seniors who have been here in it. We’re kind of developing through IHSA. Hopefully, next year we’ll be able to host and have a better travel record.”

Sacred Heart’s goal is to host five home competitions and compete in an equal number of match-ups on the road next season. The school also hopes to field a new western team.

“Fairfield [Conn.] is a very horse-thick area,” said Milstein. “From admissions yesterday I got a list of 95 people interested in the program. Right now I’m really looking for novice to intermediate  athletes who will be receptive to a growing program.”

But the transition to the NCAA format can only come incrementally, as the team still does not have horses or a facility of its own, nor does it offer any scholarships. Milstein said they hope to offer some in the future, but for the time being, “I would hate to bring in scholarship athletes and tell them, ‘Oh, and you’re not going to be traveling this year.’ ”

Team captain Kelly McGovern is helping to lead the squad through its transformation as well. The 21-year-old senior joined the IHSA team as a beginner, having never ridden before, and has moved up through the ranks. She holds a 3.9 GPA, attended the NCAA division I regional leadership conference and serves on the school’s division I status re-accreditation and intercollegiate compliance committees.

“I guess it’s good that I’m on those committees because [the athletic administrators] have gotten to know me and have seen different aspects of our team. They’re the driving force behind it all. They wanted the team to be an NCAA competitive team.”

Milstein, who is also the founder of Hopefuls USA, a non-profit group that financially assists Olympic hopefuls, echoed that sentiment.

“The idea is to bring this sport closer to all the other NCAA sports,” she said. “It’s the highest level of com-
petition.”

The team hosted a fundraiser lesson day for local children and the school’s faculty staff and students. Although McGovern said equestrian isn’t one of the university’s bigger sports, it’s gaining more recognition, which became evident when more people signed up for lessons than the team had time slots for.

McGovern said one third of the students at Sacred Heart are athletes, so it’s been exciting to adapt from their club sport to the NCAA format. “It’s been pretty cool. I think it’s definitely more of a team sport,” she said.

Growing Pains
The 24 college and university teams with varsity equestrian programs will be doing plenty of traveling throughout the next few years as they wait for more teams to form across the country. Many schools, like South Dakota State University and New Mexico State University, are geographically lonely. And for newer programs with smaller budgets, that means packing a lot of riding into a few short days.

“We’ll be going to Texas at the end of March to compete against schools out there,” said Sacred Heart coach Sloan Milstein. Until more schools in the Northeast align with the NCAA, or until the program can get more travel support, the team will likely continue to participate in marathon riding weekends. “We’ll go out West for four days, compete against three or four schools. There’s just no reason to go out there three times.”

In view of these growing pains, established programs like the one at California State University, Fresno, are giving their future rivals a leg up.

“I personally believe that we have to support the newer schools,” said Fresno head coach Becky Malmo of her decision to host a massive head-to-head competition for five up-and-coming schools this spring.  That meant coming up with more than 100 suitable horses and manpower to match, but with the largest roster in the country and one of the longest-running NCAA programs, Fresno was just the team to do it.

Malmo hopes the newer schools will learn from the success of Fresno’s program, which she took the reins of three years ago after former head coach Meghan McGee moved on to help transition South Dakota State’s equestrian team. Malmo said Fresno has had great backing from their athletic association and developed a solid fan base, which recently grew to include many members of their football team, who took a definite liking to the whooping and hollering associated with the reining competition. “They were getting way into it,” she said laughing.

And because the Fresno squad competed in both the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association until just last year, Malmo also knows the challenges of stocking a roster that newer teams are facing.

“The major differences are that we’ve had to grow more upper level riders, not just having riders at all levels for IHSA,” she acknowledged. “We’ve recruited some, had some that were already here, and we’ve even had to make a few.”

Kat Netzler