IHSA Horse Show Team

A group of Sunday Show performers in costumes with their Arabian Horses.

With over 350 colleges and more than 8,400 riders, the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) is the world's largest Intercollegiate Equestrian organization. Cal Poly Pomona is a member of IHSA Zone 8 Region 2 (southern California & Arizona) and competes in IHSA shows around the southern California region. We typically attend 8-10 Hunt Seat shows and 6-9 Western shows throughout the regular competition season. Riders compete all year long, accumulating points as individuals and also for our team. After the regular season is complete, top individuals and teams can advance to the Zone or Semi Final level, and then IHSA Nationals.

Riders may compete in Hunter Seat and/or Western Equitation with levels from Walk/Trot through Open Equitation over Fences, or Walk/Jog through Western Horsemanship/Reining classes. The team is largely run by students, with our more experienced riders running the weekly group lessons. Throughout the year, professional trainers and coaches conduct clinics at our facility or theirs, to supplement the instruction that riders receive.

Anybody can join the Horse Show Team; owning a horse is not required. The team owns several horses which are used for practices and competitions. Any level of riding experience is accepted.

Team Orientation is held at the end of September at the Horse Center, and meetings are held every Tuesday during the school year in Building 2, Room 112 at noon.

About Our Shows

The Cal Poly Pomona Horse Show Team competes as part of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. This organization levels out the playing field in a sport where money has so much to do with success in the show ring. Instead of being judged on which rider has the nicest horse, the classes are judged on who can ride what they are given with the best position. Shows are hosted by various colleges in the region, and all the colleges in the region try to pool horses together for the shows. The morning of the show, those who are competing are not permitted to ride at all before their class. They watch all the horses in the competition warm up with designated warm-up riders, and then go to a draw table to see which horse they will be riding in their classes. Sometimes riders luck out and draw a horse they know quite well, and other times, they draw a horse they've never laid their eyes on. This keeps riders on their toes and means they must be adaptable riders, as no two horses are the same.

Team Horses

Cal Poly Pomona is proud to own and lease some amazing horses! They come from diverse backgrounds and make great mounts and teachers for beginning and advanced riders alike. We would like to thank those who have donated the use and ownership of their horses for our lesson program and shows. For more information about horse donation or leasing, please contact cppequestrian@gmail.com.