Varsity Equestrian competition is a recently added NCAA sport that offers collegiate women the chance to compete against schools around the nation. It was added as a sport in 1998; currently there are 23 schools competing.

Competition Format

Schools are organized throughout the year into season schedules that allow for head to head competitions resulting in ranking and seeding for the national title.

Typically, five varsity riders compete against the opposing team. Home team schools can delegate the number of junior varsity riders that may accompany the varsity team to compete as well.
One rider from each school are randomly paired and assigned a horse to then compete in a “head-to-head” match. Competitors are matched to a horse belonging to the home team and are allowed to watched sanctioned warm ups where horses are schooled over fences as well as warmed up for the flat test to be performed. Riders are then given 4 minutes for English events as well as horsemanship, and 5 minutes for reining. Riders competing in Equitation over Fences are allowed to take 4 practice fences within the 4 minutes of warm ups. If the rider jumps more than 4 fences, she is disqualified from the show.
Whichever rider earns the highest score on that horse wins the head-to-head match and scores a point for that team. Neither team receives the point if the two riders are given a tie score. If there is a tie in the overall competition, raw scores given by the judge are added up and used to determine the winner. In some cases, the lowest score from each team may be dropped.

Equitation on the Flat

Riders selected to compete in Equitation on the Flat demonstrate a predetermined test that is performed in a dressage arena measuring 20 meters by 40 meters. The riders must demonstrate a precise, well executed and accurate test while staying in harmonious balance with the horse they’ve drawn to compete upon.
Testing is judged on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning “not performed” to 10 marking “excellent”. Riders will perform 9 required movements and a final judge’s test. The highest score a rider can receive is 100, and will receive marks for their overall correctness and position throughout the test.

Equitation over Fences

Riders selected to compete in Equitation over Fences will show over a course of 8 to 10 fences in which the rider must navigate the correct course as well as maintaining proper body positioning throughout the round. The rider should be able to have a consistent pace around the course and be able to safely jump over the fences without stopping or falling from her horse.

Horsemanship

In horsemanship, the horse and rider perform a pattern in which different maneuvers and the horse’s different gaits are exhibited. The base score for a pattern is 70, and the judge will score each of the 7-9 maneuvers anywhere from -1.5 to +1.5. The positive score indicates that a movement is above average in execution and the negative score deducts points for poor execution. Penalties are given if a horse kicks out, lopes on the wrong lead, or otherwise detracts from the uniformity of the performance. It is possible for a rider to receive a score of zero if mistakes such as going off-pattern (adding or subtracting elements from the original pattern) are made.

Reining

Unlike horsemanship patterns, reining patterns include spins and sliding stops performed by the horse and rider. In reining, a score starts 70 and can be higher or lower depending on the quality of the ride. Riders perform movements that include: fast circles, slow circles, spins and sliding stops. Going off-pattern results in a score of zero. over- or under-spinning by more than a quarter of a turn is also given a score of zero.

Schools Participating in Varsity Competition

Division I:

Auburn University

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

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Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

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Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

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California State University, Fresno

California State University, Fresno

California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...

http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/w-equest/fres-w-equest-body.html
College of Charleston

College of Charleston

The College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States...

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Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

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Delaware State University

Delaware State University

Delaware State University , is an American historically black, public university located in Dover, Delaware, and there are two satellite campuses located in Wilmington, Delaware, and Georgetown, Delaware...

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University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

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Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

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New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...

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Oklahoma State University,
Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University is a Roman Catholic university located in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. Sacred Heart was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart University was the first Catholic university in...

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University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

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South Dakota State University

South Dakota State University

South Dakota State University is the largest university in the U.S. state of South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land-grant university and sun grant college, founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act, SDSU offers programs of study required by, or harmonious to, this Act...

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

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Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...

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University of Tennessee (Martin),
Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

Division II:
University of Minnesota (Crookston),
Pace University

Pace University

Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...

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Seton Hill,
Stonehill College

Stonehill College

Stonehill College is a private Roman Catholic college located in Easton, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1948. Situated in North Easton, Massachusetts, a suburban community of 23,329 people, Stonehill is located south of Boston on a campus, the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames...

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West Texas A&M University:

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rules and Eligibility

As a prospective athlete, students wishing to attend a Division I or II institution must be eligible before competing within collegiate athletics.
One form in specific that should be downloaded by the prospective athlete is called the “Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete”. There students will be able to look over the requirements more in depth. Most importantly, the student must still be an amateur to compete.

Coaches may send out written contacts as of September 1 of the athlete’s junior year but may not return phone calls prior to July 1 of the athlete’s senior year. If an athlete is on an official visit they must be seniors, however, trips made at the athlete’s personal expense may take place before their senior years. Each type of visit may not be during a dead period in schooling at the university.

2008 Varsity Equestrian National Championship Results

Western Team Finishes:
1. TCU
2. Georgia
3. Kansas State
4. Oklahoma State
5. Texas A&M

Hunter Seat Team Finishes
1. Auburn
2. Texas A&M
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma State
5. South Carolina

Overall National Champion: Georgia

Overall VENC Team Standings

1. Georgia
2. Texas A&M
3. Auburn
4. Oklahoma State
5. Kansas State

Individual Champions: Hunter Seat

Equitation Over Fences: Kristin Terebesi - South Carolina

Equitation on the Flat: Kristin Terebesi - South Carolina

Western Horsemanship: Caroline Gunn - Texas A&M

Reining: Sarah Locker - Georgia