Riding / Lesson Information
CUET welcomes riders of any discipline, however the team currently shows in English and Western as a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA)
Currently, our coach is Sue Malencia of Starting Line Stables, located in Finelyville, PA. Sue trains in both English and Western disciplines.
Each semester a lesson package is offered exclusively for members of the CUET. For the Fall 2003/Spring 2004 school year, the lesson package includes 11 lessons and 8 team-sponsered ride-alongs (Fall semester only) for $240. You do not need to purchase the lesson package, however it is an incredible bargain. Other arrangements can easily be made with Sue.
Unless you plan on showing through the equestrian team, you do not need to take lessons with the team coach, or from anyone at all. Our by-laws state that team members desiring to show must complete a required amount of lessons with the team coach or they will not be permitted to show in an IHSA sanctioned show, unless the coach or team advisor approves the exception. This is for the benefit of the rider, as our coach cannot help you preform your best at a show if he or she does not know the tendacies of a rider and cannot help you prepare adequately as you enter the ring.
Showing
As previously discussed, the Equestrian Team is a member of the IHSA. The team coach will place a rider in a class appropriate to their riding ability. Through showing events, the rider gains points for placing and after a rider accumulates a predetermined amount of points will advance ("point-out") to the next level of riding ability. Once a rider "points out" of a level they are qualified to attend the Regional show, and from there may advance to the Zone competition, and ultimately to the National competition event.
Usually, there are about 5 English and 5 Western shows each semster. IHSA sanctioned shows are held at a "host" university. The hosting university provides the horses and tack for the day's events; you are not required or asked to bring your own horse or tack to the shows. In order to assure equality and fairness, lots are drawn in order to assign a horse to a rider. Truly, the horse you ride is the luck of the draw. While this method offers a few disadvantages (being assigned to a "bad" horse) it ensures fairness and improves the rider's ability to adapt to different horses and give the rider invaluable experience from riding a variety of horses.