I’m interested in joining IHSA in college, as it would be hard to be recruited for NCEA. Does anyone have a list, or know of some colleges that operate their IHSA team as a varsity sport. Most colleges operate them as club sports that really have a lack of funding. I know some colleges like Cornell though have equestrian as a Varisty sport that can recruit people and get funding from the school for their IHSA team. If anyone knows of any other IHSA teams that are varsity sports, please tell me! Thank you so so so much!
There are very few schools that truly cover all riding fees. A few that come to mind are Mt. Holyoke, Emory and Henry, SCAD, Skidmore, Centenary, and St. Andrews. There are probably a few more but those are most of the big ones.
A lot of other riding programs will be partially funded by the school although it varies greatly from school to school.
For me, I wanted a competitive team with a barn on campus (pretty rare) and a strong academic program in my chosen discipline. If you have questions about certain teams you can pm me. I’m familiar with many of them.
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Expensive and highly competitive private liberal arts schools and schools that offer an equine degree of some sort are more likely to fund their team. You should go to the IHSA site http://www.ihsainc.com/ and then investigate each school, asking lots of questions. Schools that offer riding as part of the curriculum are more likely to support the team.
This article seems up to date but again you will need to investigate carefully and ask lots of questions.
https://www.thoughtco.com/best-equestrian-colleges-788305
Ask lots of questions and pick the school that is right for you aside from riding. Good luck!
Alfred University has a varsity team. It’s a great school if you are into living in rural NY and want to major in engineering or ceramics.
Much more important should be - what do you want to major in? Does the college have a strong program in that major? What are the academics compared to your grades and SAT scores? What do you want out of the college? Then start looking for those things - the riding program is just a small part of the whole college search.
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I’d be surprised if anyone has a master list, but I ride in the same region as Cornell and Alfred (upstate NY area) and I know we have a weirdly high number of varsity teams. I think my school’s team might be one of the only ones that doesn’t get much school funding. Nazareth College is also in our region and is also varsity, and from what I’ve heard, a lot of the club teams in our area get at least partial school funding.
My understanding is that the amount of funding that a club team gets really varies from school to school. I would honestly just make a list of all the schools you think you’re interested in, and just go through and try to contact each set of captains and coaches about how much you’d expect to spend for a season of showing.
Another thing to think about is the time commitment for a varsity team. A lot of the varsity teams will have quite a few mandatory practices every week, which can be really difficult to handle when your classwork ramps up. Our club team has discussed applying for varsity status quite a few times, but honestly it just isn’t realistic for a lot of our current riders to do both a varsity team and their required classes at the same time. It does get frustrating trying to scrape the money together, but I’ve found that I really love being on a club team and having that flexibility to take a step back from team stuff when I need to just focus on academics for a little bit.
Washington & Lee is entirely funded by the school and arguably in the most competitive region with Hollins, Randolph, Sweet Briar, Bridgewater, and UVA.
Nazareth College (near Rochester, NY) operated as a varsity sport. We paid next to nothing for shows, lessons, etc.
The College of Charleston in South Carolina has an IHSA team as one of their varsity sports- They’re very good too, reserve team at IHSA nationals and winner of the Cacchione Cup in the past few years.
I’m fairly sure St. Lawrence in Zone II, Region II (Western NY) is varsity (I know at least that their competing riders receive a lot of funding). They have a beautiful facility and a very strong team, have been national champions a few times.
West Texas A&M University has a varsity IHSA team, with very little cost to riders.
Wilson, Alfred, Findlay, Caz, Centenary, St Lawrence, Cornell. While you’re right about the “funding” issue, keep in mind that these teams compete against the teams that receive less funding. They also cost a $&% ton more to go there…
I’m probably going to burn some people here, but from my experience some of the riders (especially open/intermediate) had a hard time riding the less-than-fancy horses that were available at the shows. Not always, but sometimes.
I rode for two state universities (western and english) and while we did have to fund raise/pay a little more than a varsity team and didn’t get to go to horse shows in a bus or stay in super nice hotels, I saved a ton of money in the long run by going to a state school and still got to ride A LOT (without having 6 am lessons). Just some food for thought.
FYI. Slippery Rock University (PA) has a barn on campus that is part of their therapeutic recreation program if you’re looking for a farm with an on campus barn other than a private school.
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Another good way to find schools is to take a look at the IHSA Nationals results for the past couple years. Look at who placed in the top 10 in team competitions and it should give you a pretty good idea of who the top teams are. It tends to be the same teams within the top 10. That should give you a good place to start looking and then you can take a look at each program and see if it might be a good fit for you.
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THIS!
You won’t find many people who are bigger fans of IHSA than I am. However, a riding club (or lack thereof) should not determine where anyone goes to college. You can ride anywhere. If your school of choice doesn’t have an IHSA club/team, you can even start one!
Varsity status, by the way, is incredibly overrated. Many of the programs listed here may “cover” more of the costs, but their students also pay A LOT more in both tuition and per-semester riding fees than most students participating in “unfunded” programs. As you talk with the captains and/or coaches at schools you are interested in, don’t ask whether the school funds the club. Ask how much (TOTAL) the average participant pays per semester in dues, entry fees, travel expenses, lessons, “program fees”, etc.
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And I would say it’s such a competitive region because all of those schools (maybe not UVA?) have IHSA as varsity sports. While riding expenses aren’t fully covered at all of them, I know the school supports a lot of the cost. I go to Bridgewater, this will be my 4th year in the riding program. We pay for lessons, which anyone can take regardless of riding on the team or not, and with the team you get a free lesson a week (team practice), lift with the team, IHSA competition costs are covered (travel, hotel if necessary, any food purchased when traveling for the show, and show entries) by the school.
I definitely think it’s worth looking into a program with this much school support, because it’s the cheapest I’ve ever ridden in my life and we have a really really big program at my school, which is awesome if you enjoy having a ton of horse friends! If you have any questions let me know!!
While this may be true for some schools, a lot of smaller private liberal arts schools give A LOT of scholarship money. Also, I don’t see the harm in looking for a school specifically for the varsity program. I chose Bridgewater college based off of the riding program, and I’m thankful I did. If I had chosen a school based off of the major I was interested in while in high school (biology) I may not have ended up at Bridgewater which has a great program for my degree now (economics and political science… totally different direction!). I think that’s the value in liberal arts schools, and I would not have found BC without searching for a varsity program.
I pay less than $25,000 a year in tuition and room and board after scholarships, and this isn’t out of the ordinary. I wasn’t a stellar student in high school, it’s not because of perfect grades. For riding, I pay I believe around $1400 a semester, which works out to roughly $40 a lesson. Beyond that, I have no other expenses in the riding program. Free access to athletic training services, which is great for any injuries or problems you’re having. Lifting, team workouts, all travel expenses, covered by the school.
And although it’s entirely possible to start your own IHSA club at a school, I am so so thankful mine had such a strong program. Most of my best friends ride, and with such a huge program we have so many opportunities that I know people at smaller programs aren’t able to have. It’s definitely possible to start you’re own, but if an established program is what you’re looking for, they aren’t hard to find!
Personally, this is exponentially cheaper than any state school with a riding program I looked at. There’s no harm in prioritizing riding, because as long as you also make sure the school has strong academics and is in your price range, you could find the perfect school that way. Good luck with your search!!
St. Lawrence University is NOT in Western NY it’s only 60 miles from Ottawa! It has a very active and well placed IHSA, it is also extremely expensive to go there. But great academics and a ton of majors. It is truly in the middle of nowhere so not for everyone.
Didn’t go to school there just worked there
My Alma Mater is Wilson College but it has fallen from IHSA glory. Though one of my classmates now coaches the team and she’s lovely.
I attended a smaller public school in my home state; I paid less than $1k/year in tuition, after scholarships. Riding, including two lessons per week, dues, and entry fees, cost me less than $1k per semester. “Affordable” is a relative concept. 
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I am a graduate of Sweet Briar College, who has an incredibly well funded and competitive IHSA team, despite it “only” being a club sport.
Sweet Briar is also generous with their financial aid packages.
I would not automatically rule out a school because of their IHSA’s varsity status (or lack thereof). If you do your homework, it’s quite easy to learn which schools have well established equestrian resources. Many of the “club” schools are among the most competitive in the country.
$25,000x4=a whole lot of debt coming out of undergrad (unless you have someone who can pay cash for your education).
Which is not to say that it might not make sense for some people (depends on the school, the major, job prospects coming out with just the undergraduate degree, other options, etc.)
But I think when most people are talking about a “value” in undergraduate education, they’re talking about a less than 6 figure debt load/price tag. Certainly there are more expensive schools, but they are also significantly less expensive schools.
I would not choose a school based on the riding program. I would choose it based on economics/educational quality/job outcomes and then figure out how to work riding in. IHSA was fun but it’s not the only path to riding while in college.
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