Thirty-two high school aged riders participated in the Collegiate Equestrian Talent Search (ETS) clinic at the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, Jan. 22-23. The weekend event began with a Friday night seminar for riders and parents which discussed the differences between IHSA and NCAA riding and recruiting. Clinicians outlined benefits and drawbacks of each association and worked on strategies for getting recruited.  They also talked about collegiate dressage and high school riding opportunities.

On Saturday, riders were divided into IHSA class levels and each group rode a two-hour mounted clinic with CJ Law, Mount Holyoke Equestrian Director and Coach of the IHSA Equestrian Team, winners of multiple National Championships; and Jim Arrigon, longtime IHSA National Secretary and IHSA coach of four different teams and the only trainer who has coached both collegiate and high school national champion teams. Clinics focused on “catch riding” skills required to be a successful collegiate rider and stressed fundamental natural aids and communicative skills, along with athletic fitness and strength. Much of the clinic discussion centered around strategies for making an effective tryout ride, and each rider was given specific problem areas on which to concentrate and drills to help that effort. Clinic participants were made up of about 20% seniors, 60% juniors and 20% freshman and sophomores.

Sunday morning began with a course walk led by Coach Law, followed by horse show classes for each group in an IHSA show format.  Johnson & Wales University Coach Dirk Fogg judged each group in an equitation on the flat class and then equitation over fences class. Riders were placed in each class like a regular IHSA show, while riders from different groups were arranged into teams for a team competition as well. Teams were required to name their teams and help each other prepare for their classes

Following the show, additional awards were given for Champion Riders in each group, and for Champion Teams.  Coach Fogg spoke to the group with general comments, and then met with each individual student for comments and advice about their rides. 

After the weekend, students received a report card with notes compiled from Arrigon’s and Law’s clinic notes, Fogg’s horse show notes and Arrigon’s suggestions on homework to improve each individual’s skills.  When seniors show an interest in a particular college, their BIO forms and Report Cards will be sent to coaches of those teams along with a personal note from Arrigon. 

Arrigon produces six such clinic weekends annually, twice in Virginia, twice at Mount Holyoke, in Philadelphia, and Columbus, Ohio.  Future events are planned elsewhere, including Texas and California.  Clinicians this year have included some of the top collegiate coaches in the country, including Law, Eddie Federwisch of Virginia Intermont College, Cory Kieschnick of Delaware Valley College, Ian McCartney of Sweet Briar College, Matt Arrigon from Lynchburg College, and many others. 

Arrigon said, “Now that we’ve been doing these clinics for a few years, it’s fun that we’re starting to see many of our former ETS students showing up on most of the top IHSA and NCAA teams.  Last week’s Tournament of Champions show included over two dozen former ETS students, riding for several different teams.”

Equestrian Talent Search participants come from every part of the country and from many diverse riding backgrounds.  At the Mount Holyoke event, about one-third of the students came from the IEA Metropolitan Equestrian Team from Brooklyn, New York; or from Briarwood Farm, Flemington, New Jersey.  

In other ETS news, Chatham Hall School, Chatham, Virginia and the collegiate Tournament of Champions Winter Classic played host to the inaugural Equestrian Talent Search Medal class.  Twenty-two top high school riders were invited to participate based on their performances in the Equestrian Talent Search clinics the past couple years. 

Virginia Intermont College was the sponsor of the event, offering a $5000 scholarship to the winner.  Riders began the class with equitation on the flat performances, after which the judge chose twelve to return for a jumping phase.  Following the fences rounds, four riders were invited back for further testing, the same format as the collegiate medal.

In the end, the winner of the ETS Medal and the VIC scholarship was Ashley Wells, a senior from Erie, Pennsylvania, who trains with Lew Trumble, the coach of the Edinboro College IHSA team.  Ashley now has a choice to make, as she had previously committed to riding at Lynchburg next year.  In Reserve Champion was Kayla Akers, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Kayla trains with Jim Arrigon at Beckett Run, and was part of the 2009 IEA National Champion team.  She hopes to ride next year at either Virginia Intermont or St Andrews. 

The event will be repeated at the Tournament of Champions Preseason Classic at Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio in September. 

Arrigon is now preparing for the next ETS event, at Chatham Hall School in Virginia in March.  More info is available at www.EquestrianTalentSearch.com.  

Champion Team – “Holy Sock Monkies”

Madi Cromwell, York, Maine

Kelsey Smith, Olympia, Wash.

Kimmy Cecere, Littleton, Mass.

Reserve Champion Team – “Trotting Badgers”

Dunya Akhund – Brooklyn, N.Y.

Christopher Jordan, Ozone Park, N.Y.

Cori Grainger, Los Gatos, Calif.

Champion and Reserve Champion Riders

Group One

Champion: Samantha Swan, Neponsit, N.Y,

Res. Champion: Ashley Uphoff, Catopnsville, Md.

            Group Two

                        Champion:  Chelsea Buttermore, Flemington, N.J.

                        Res. Champion:  Alex Najarian, Duxbury, Mass.

            Group Three

                        Champion:  Dunya Akhund, Brooklyn, N.Y.

                        Res. Champion:  Christopher Jordan, Ozone Park, N.Y.

            Group Four

                        Champion:  Kimmy Cecere, Littleton, Mass.

                        Res. Champion:  Evie Aaron, Hudson, N.Y.