Equestrian

The Post University Equestrian Team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). This organization is recognized nationally with approximately 253 college teams and over 5,000 riders! Post University competes in the riding discipline of hunt seat equitation for Zone 1, Region 1, with ten other colleges.  The other colleges include:  University of Connecticut, Brown University, Salve Regina, University of Rhode Island, Wesleyan, Rhode Island College, Trinity College, Johnson and Wales, Central Connecticut State University, and Roger Williams University.

Our team has women and men riders ranging from beginner walk-trot equitation up through open equitation on the flat, and over fences.  Riders can advance to the next level by accumulating points for each ribbon awarded to them at horse shows. Once a rider has reached 35 points in their division, not only do they advance to the next level but they are also qualified for the Regional competition at the end of the season which enables them to qualify for the Zones and National Championships.

Each show season runs through both academic semesters, fall and spring, and the team travels to about 10 shows during each season. At the horse shows, competitors ride the hosting school's horses, not their own, and no one is allowed to use their own saddle.

Before the show begins, a horse draw is done by a lottery system to see which horse is paired up with which rider. Anyone showing is not allowed to school/warm-up on the horse they are competing on. When a class is ready to begin, each rider mounts their horse, adjusts their stirrups and rides before the judge. The riders are judged on their equitation which means the correct riding position as well as how the riders control an unfamiliar horse (a true test of knowing how to ride!).

Also at the horse shows, each coach selects point riders for their team. There is one point rider for each class level and if the point rider receives a ribbon that day, the points earned are counted towards the team score as well as for their individual points. Once a horse show is over, each team's points are totaled to see who achieved high point and reserve high point team of the day. At the end of each season, points from all the horse shows are added for the high point teams of the season.

Alumni classes are only divided into two classes, on the flat, or over fences.  There is no differentiation made by the division that a rider was in when they graduated.  Our riders must compete against each other as well as against riders from the other schools. The IHSA requirements to ride as an alumni rider are that the rider must have ridden as an undergraduate for their school in the IHSA, and their skill level must be equivalent to at least the Beginner W-T-C division for the flat and equivalent to the Novice Fences level for jumping.  Alums may ride for two additional years after graduation. The two years do not have to be immediately after graduation, nor successive years.

Although alumni riders' points do not count towards team points at any particular show, they do, however, accumulate points towards qualifying for the Regional, Zone and National Championships.

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