Hunt Seat Starts Strong
Wilson College’s Hunt Seat team made their semester debut with their first show hosted by Penn State Altoona and Gettysburg. The first show of the semester was held at Grier school, located in Birmingham, Pa.
The IHSA show, located almost two-hours away, began with horse draw and warm-up. The purpose of IHSA is to give every college student the ability to show hunt seat, no matter their riding level or financial status.
Riders were randomly assigned a horse to ride for their class and given the opportunity to watch their horse warm-up prior to their class. The idea behind this is to make the draw fair and show the rider’s ability to get on an unfamiliar horse and successfully perform.
While there are many different levels in IHSA, the basics behind the show are the same. Each rider gets the chance to ride the horse that they draw to the best of their ability and earn points for their team (as well as individually).
This show is a wonderful way for students to gain showing experience without spending the amount of money it would cost to show competitively. Wilson students work hard each week during practices, workouts, service projects, and classes to maintain their spot on the team.
This was visible at the first show at Grier School. The first day of the show was very successful, as the team placed in third overall. On both days of the show, there were many individual personal bests. The team continues to make progress, ride successfully, and enhance their horsemanship skills.
The team’s next show will be on March 28th and 29th in Ringoes, New Jersey at Black River Stables.