More About the MHC Dressage Program and the IDA By Elana Bertram Updated by Nicole Mazzeo August 2004 Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) is a young national organization with teams from schools all over the nation. Right now we have five regions: East coast, Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, and West. They have an established executive board. The IDA has hosted three National Championships: 2002-2004. The way an IDA horseshow works is based on the IHSA show structure, but a little more complicated. Each team of four riders - one at First level, one at Training level 3 or 4, one at Training level 1 or 2, and one at USDF Introductory level (walk trot) - draws a group of 4 horses and the coach and team examine the horses in a "parade" at the beginning of the show. The coach delegates a rider to each horse appropriate to the level that rider is riding. The riders get an assigned show time and 10 minutes to warm-up with their coach before riding a dressage test from memory in front a licensed judge. The tests are the USAE dressage tests, but the collective marks are changed to 3x for rider position and effectiveness and to only 1x for horse's gaits. The best three rides from each team are averaged, and the team with the highest overall points wins the show. Individual awards are also given, and points are tracked throughout the season to determine year-end regional awards, qualifications to Nationals and pointing out. Last semester, our team consisted of 18 riders spanning all levels and years, from first-year to seniors and from Preliminary event riders and upper level dressage riders to riders who have a little backround in dressage. The MHC team travels to Johnson & Wales University, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Dartmouth College, and the University of New Hampshire for horseshows. There are typically 4 to 6 shows per semester and the four riders on a team vary from show to show. MHC hosts one IDA show per semester. MHC sends one or two teams to each show and sometimes we are able to send individuals when a show isn’t full. At the end of each academic year the IDA hosts a National Championship. In 2005 the Nationals will be held at Lake Erie College. Our region, the northeast, consists of 9 schools including Mount Holyoke. The IDA no longer includes secondary schools. There are currently 30 participating colleges and universities in the IDA. The schools are not required to host shows, but there is a yearly IDA membership fee and entry fees to the shows. I personally adore the setup and the team atmosphere. Like most riders my age, your peers are your adversaries, particularly if you ride at the same level from the same trainer. Here, there is of course positive pressure to ride your best, but there is team support and people to root for and for you. The fate of your day is not carried by your shoulders alone, but by the luck of the draw and the success of the three other riders on your team. I think the drawing of horses makes the competition more fair - better riding, rather than more expensive horses, determines the outcome. No one can ride that horse for you, no one can fix the mistakes you make, or the rider before you made. You need to rely on instinct and skill to get a strange horse honestly through his back and on your aids while remembering your test and preparing for on-the-letter transitions - don't forget to sit up and smile! The shows are a lot of fun, and there is a cheerful camaraderie between teams - many riders grew up in Pony Club or at the same stable or show circuit together and went to different colleges. There is a lot of time for riders to get to know one another waiting for the scores to be tabulated at the end of the day! Overall, I hope that the IDA and the dressage program at Mount Holyoke gets the publicity it deserves. The Equesrian center is host to a few clinics throughout the year. We have Physical Education and private dressage lessons available, as well as many dressage-centric boarders. We are a high class establishment with great trainers and staff running a ship-shape school program and boarding facility. It's important to note that the Equestrian Center is actually ON CAMPUS, as opposed to most schools, which use a nearby stable, oftentimes a few miles' drive off campus. The school program has several "dressage-only" school horses who are not used in the hunt seat program, another commodity. Mount Holyoke was the first school to establish an intercollegiate dressage program, and this is the tenth year of its existence. It has already spread throughout the country. It is very exciting to be an officer in a club that has so much national influence and success!