Montana State University |
Montana State University |
By Carol Flaherty
02/14/00 BOZEMAN, Mont. - The recent affiliation of Montana State University - Bozeman Horseman's Club with the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association plus some help from MSU's College of Agriculture are providing new opportunities for students in the club. (See related story, Is it Job, School or Hobby?)
The co-ed MSU Horseman's Club has been active for many years. In the club, theoretically, a member doesn't have to own a horse to ride, though the available horses for MSU students have been few in relation to the growing demand.
The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association team is a subgroup of the overall Horseman's Club. You become an IHSA member in order to participate in intercollegiate competitions. MSU's team is part of Region 8, including California, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
At IHSA shows, a member draws a horse from the pool of those made available by schools sponsoring the event. This eliminates the cost of horse ownership for members, also reducing the cost of travel and participation in horsemanship competitions.
Team members compete in a variety of classes, from beginner to advanced levels in Western stock seat and English hunter/jumpers.
Pamela Dance, the MSU club's volunteer coach, said membership in the Horseman's Club is $15 per year, but IHSA membership is another $10-35 annually, depending on the number of disciplines a person wants to participate in. There are also fees at each IHSA competition, typically $10 to $20 per class entered, and additional expenses for transportation, lodging and clothing.
MSU Horseman's Club affiliation with IHSA started in September 1999. MSU Junior Tawnya Rupe, the state IHSA president, says several other Montana colleges and universities are interested in IHSA affiliation for their Horseman Clubs.
"We want to get our own region," says Rupe. She says students at MSU-Billings, Rocky Mountain College and other schools in the region have said they are interested in affiliating with IHSA so more competitions would be available closer to their campuses.
At MSU, Horseman's Club activities have been limited by the tight scheduling of MSU's horses and facilities, and also by the cost of travel to events. The college is looking into the scheduling issue, and for the first time this year, the club received financial help from money raised during last fall's Agricultural Appreciation Days.
Dance says IHSA affiliation as a club or varsity sport is a strong draw for out-of-state students. Her survey of colleges or universities across the country that offer equine sciences showed that many pay all team member IHSA expenses as well as team scholarships to recruit students.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is working with IHSA's National Board to bring its rules into compliance in preparation for it becoming an NCAA-sanctioned sport. It is the only sport where competition is not separated by gender, says Dance.
The club has used various facilities in the Gallatin Valley.
"People have been very gracious in letting us use their horses and facilities, but it has limited the amount the club could practice. Even at that, we are third in the region in IHSA competition. I think we will be very competitive when we can practice and coach on a regular basis."
Club members, Dance, and the club's MSU Advisor Rita Sand, plan to improve the availability of mounts by vigorously pursuing donated horses and equipment that will be kept at a nearby facility, the Gallatin River Ranch. "We found that the Gallatin River Ranch would be the best centralized location to meet our needs," says Dance, who is also the equestrian director at the ranch. MSU students would use the horses during the school year, and the ranch would board them in return for being able to use the horses in the summer for trail rides and lessons.
Desta Dusenberry, an MSU student from Bozeman, is president for the 1999-2000 school year. Other Montana members include Kelly Fosberry of Kalispell, Mariah Stowe of Great Falls, Becky McCoy of Laurel, Kate Settle of Miles City, Leanne Pfister of Roundup, Becky Davis of Helena; and Christie Veltkamp and Jessi McCarty of Bozeman.
For more information about starting an IHSA affiliated Horseman's Club, contact Tawnya Rupe (406) 587-2171.
Send questions or comments to Carol Flaherty, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717: carolf@montana.edu.
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