The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) has partnered with the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) and the American National Riding Commission (ANRC) to bring more knowledge to IEA members on how to prepare for college riding through the “Collegiate Connection” education series.  A combination of live webinars and Twitter TakeOvers will offer an interactive platform with the leaders of these major college programs, who will guide IEA members through the process and preparation of getting on a college team. In addition to live Q&A, each presenter will provide background information on her collegiate equestrian program.

Dr. Leah Fiorentino, NCEA Executive Director, will lead the first webinar and Twitter Takeover sessions; Jennifer Smith, IHSA Region President and Director of the Equestrian Program at Goucher College will lead the second part of the series and Patte Zumbrun, ANRC Chair will lead the discussion in the third two-part session.

“The NCEA, IHSA and ANRC provide wonderful opportunities for our IEA riders who want to continue participation in equestrian sport at the college level.  However, each organization has different requirements to join their programs and it can be a complicated process for our high school riders and their families,” said Roxane Lawrence Durant, IEA co-founder/executive director.  “We are so very pleased that the leadership of these collegiate equestrian programs have graciously agreed to join us for this education series and help our members through the college decision-making process.”

The schedule is:

NCEA Webinar: September 22; NCEA Twitter TakeOver: September 29

NCEA Executive Director Dr. Leah Fiorentino will ensure that IEA members have accurate information about NCEA teams and where they can locate more information about the NCEA. She will also cover the NCAA compliance information for the recruiting process and supply milestone dates so that IEA members can plan their college timeline.

IHSA Webinar: October 6; IHSA Twitter TakeOver October 13

IHSA Region President and Director of the Equestrian Program at Goucher College, Jennifer Smith will give a brief background of the IHSA and all of its offerings and opportunities as well as how to find colleges with IHSA teams, where colleges recruit, what IHSA coaches want prospective athletes to know about recruitment and what coaches look for in a prospective athlete.

ANRC Webinar: October 20; ANRC Twitter TakeOver: October 27

ANRC Chair Patte Zumbrun will give background and information on the American National Riding Commission program and its longstanding mission to promote the American System of Forward Riding.  Her informational session will focus on the ANRC National Intercollegiate National Equitation Championship with a format overview, participating colleges, and additional overview information.

Although each webinar will have a live chat room for participants to ask questions to the hosts, the NCEA, IHSA and ANRC will have full access to the IEA Twitter account during their Twitter TakeOver session. Any lingering questions can be addressed through IEA’s Twitter handle, @rideiea, during the Twitter TakeOver’s that will take place one week after each webinar.

About IEA:

Celebrating its 15th Anniversary, the IEA has more than 12,500 middle and high school student-riders across the United States.  The IEA was organized to promote and improve the quality of equestrian competition and instruction available to middle and secondary school students and is open to public and private schools and barn teams. Its purpose is to set minimum standards for competition, provide information concerning the creation and development of school associated equestrian sport programs, to generally promote the common interests of safe riding instruction and competition and education on matters related to equestrian competition at the middle and secondary school levels. For more information, please view the IEA website at: www.rideiea.org.