Edinboro Equestrian Team Competitions  

From the archives: Fall 2001

          A new club sport has been added to the Edinboro University roster.  The Edinboro Equestrian Team is in its first full season of showing.  Competing in four out of six intercollegiate shows this fall, the team is now on a break until shows resume in February of 2002.  Currently advised by Walter Patterson, four team members have participated in the show ring, although the equestrian club is working on raising this number.  Each rider is judged individually on her performance in her class on a horse provided by the host college or university.  Riders and classes for Edinboro University of PA this fall were:  Laura Hetz in classes intermediate flat and novice over fences, Coty Schrag in class advanced walk/trot/canter, April Vinca in class beginner walk/trot/canter, and Shannon Willy in class walk/trot. 

Our region includes about 15 colleges and universities including Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Wilson College.  The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) creates the rules and guidelines for all of our competitions and competitions across the country.  The nation is divided into zones and further divided into regions for the levels of competition.  For each show the host college supplies the horses to be used that day.  At the beginning of the show horses are drawn at random for each rider.  There is no practice time the day of the show for any rider before entering the ring.  Each team member works toward individual points in order to point out or move up to the next class, as well as earning points for the whole team to compare to the other competing colleges and universities.  With a certain accumulation of points, individuals or teams can qualify for the regional, zone and national competitions in the spring.  Any university can have up to 12 riders per show and a total of 15 rides. Each team can only have one rider per level compete to acquire points for the team, although each rider can accumulate individual points in her class.  The point values for placement are 7 points for 1^st place, 5 points for 2^nd, 4 points for 3^rd, 3 points for 4^th, 2 points for 5^th and 1 point for 6^th.  At the end of the fall show season Edinboro University of PA accumulated 35 points. 

The University of Pittsburgh’s Equestrian Club hosted the first show we participated in this season on October 7, 2001.  The Edinboro team placements at this show were 6^th place in intermediate flat by Hetz, 1^st and 5^th place in beginner walk/trot/canter by Vinca and Schrag, and 6^th place in walk/trot by Willy.  The Penn State Equestrian Team hosted their second show this season on October 14^th.  The placement at this show was 4^th in beginner walk/trot/canter by Vinca. Hetz and Schrag also participated in the Penn State show.  Westminster’s intercollegiate show on October 21^st was a little closer to home for the Edinboro team.  Hetz placed 3^rd in novice over fences, as well as 6^th in intermediate flat.  In beginner walk/trot/canter Vinca placed 5^th and in walk/trot Willy took home a 6^th place ribbon from her largest class of competition to date.  West Virginia University’s Equestrian Club hosted the final show for the fall on October 28^th.  The Edinboro Equestrian Team performed, overall, the best at this show.  Hetz took 2^nd over fences and 4^th on the flat, Schrag took 4^th in advanced walk/trot/canter and Vinca took 1^st in beginner walk/trot/canter, bringing home the another blue ribbon for the team and pointing out of her class with 19 individual points.

With the close of the show season the team is taking the time to learn from each ride and focus on improving our skills.  With the help of the Willows Equestrian Center and our coach, Halli Bidwell, the team is able to take group lessons to aid us in our improvement for the spring.  Our region will be holding three shows before the close of the academic year and before regional competitions begin.  The scheduled shows for the spring are February 24, 2002 hosted by Wilson College, March 17^th hosted by Indiana University of PA and March 24^th hosted again by Westminster College.  The team hopes to be able to attend each show and be able to gain more team members and support from their fellow Scots.  If you would like to learn more about the EUP Equestrian Team, please contact Walter Patterson at wpatterson@edinboro.edu