Want to Ride for an NCEA Team?
Tips to Get Yourself Noticed
What is the NCEA?
In 1998 the NCAA adopted Equestrian as an emerging sport for collegiate women and the Division I and II level. At present there are 16 Division I and 4 Division II schools. The adoption of riding into the NCAA umbrella opened up great opportunities for young women who are accomplished riders and plan to go to college.
Since there are more college bound accomplished young women riders than there are berths on 20 teams, the competition for a spot on a team and a scholarship can be fierce. We spoke to McKenzie Lantz Breuker, the Assistant Western Coach for the University of Georgia to get a coach’s perspective on what a prospective rider can do to get noticed.
From Coach Lantz Breuker
The first thing to talk about are the rules. McKenzie told us that coaches cannot have any contact with prospects until June 15th of their Junior year in high school. While the coaches cannot communicate with the riders, the riders sure can communicate with the coaches. They just won’t respond until the rider hits the June 15th date.
Where and when should a rider start?
“The earlier you can be on a coaches radar the better,” McKenzie said.
The most agreed upon action is for the prospective rider to email the coach(es) of the schools that they are interested in. If a rider starts to email a coach say their freshman year, they should continue to email the coaches prior to the rider’s junior year. Don’t bombard them but stay on the radar.
Leverage Social Media
One way to get noticed is for the rider to create a YouTube channel where they upload videos of rides. In addition to all the great accomplishments and wins, coaches are also looking for how you act and ride out of the show pen. McKenzie said, “while watching a video, I am not only looking for how you handled yourself as a rider but how you reacted when things didn’t go your way!”
What types of videos should you put on your YouTube channel?
- Full videos of patterns or runs at horse shows. They don’t want a highlight reel. They want the whole run.
- Videos of you schooling your horse and working with your trainer. This lets them see how you take instruction and how coachable you are.
- If you are a western rider, they want to see you ride both one and two handed.
- Ride more than one horse. Since part of the NCEA program is riding many different horses, they want to see how you can ride and handle yourself on multiple horses.
- Make sure your videos are up close. If the videos are from across the pen, they may not highlight your riding ability.
- If you show IEA, have videos of those runs as well as their format mimics that of the NCEA equestrian teams.
What types of riders are coaches looking for?
- Someone who is a team player. At horse shows and events, how are you treating your trainer? Mom? Dad? Other exhibitors?
- Someone who is responsible. At horse shows are you taking care of your horse?
- Someone with great time management skills. If you ride for a team, you are first and foremost in college. Riders have to be able to handle the requirements of the team and keep up on their schoolwork and maintain grades.
- Someone who is involved in their community. Do you do volunteer work? Are you involved in other extracurricular activities?
Choosing a Program
We asked McKenzie what advice she had for a prospective or invited recruit when it comes to picking a program:
“The best advice that I can give a prospective recruit is to come up with a priority list. Take all the pieces and place them in order of importance. To some academics may be at the top of the list and to others it is location or team atmosphere. It is key to remember that while you are going to school to ride on a team, it is equally if not more important to know that you are choosing a place that will hopefully set you up for whatever the next chapter in your adult life may be.”
A Few More Notes
Prospective recruits can visit a school at any time. An unofficial visit is not paid by the school. However, if they are actively recruiting you, they may offer an official visit, which will be paid.
It is also important to know that not all recruits get a scholarship. There are academic as well as athletic scholarships. The equestrian team coach is only in charge of the athletic scholarships and those are in limited supply. It is key to also have very good high school academic performance and test scores to set yourself up for academic scholarships as well. Each team gets to offer 15 full ride scholarships.
Most schools will offer equestrian camps. These camps provide riders with opportunity to see how the teams work. It also allows riders to have firsthand interactions with the team coaches. McKenzie said that attending camps is a great way to get in front of the coaches and learn what it takes to be part of a college equestrian team. The earlier a prospective rider attends camp the better.
Competitor’s View: Casey Johnson
Several Appaloosa competitors are riding on NCAA teams.
Casey Johnson, a soon to be senior rides for Delaware State University. Casey said that she knew she wanted to ride on an NCAA team when she entered high school and started her quest at that time. She started to attend camps early in high school.
“I believe going to camps, meeting and talking with different coaches allows you to figure out their coaching style and personality. The coach you pick is going to have to be more than a coach at times, so you need to be on a team where the people feel like family.”
Casey stated that another major deciding factor for her was the school itself.
She didn’t want to attend a huge university and knew she wanted to eventually work in the agriculture industry. As not all of the schools offer these majors, this helped her narrow down her list. She committed as a Junior in high school and signed as a senior. Her advice is to start attending camps and reaching out to coaches as soon as possible to get noticed in the super competitive field.
Competitor’s View: Sierra Kane
ApHC Non-Pro Sierra Kane also rides for Delaware State University.
Her process, though similar to Casey’s, was slightly different. Sierra knew she wanted to ride for an NCAA team, but her two main selection criteria were location and providing the major she wanted to study.
Sierra suggests video taping rides at horse shows, particularly horsemanship or hunt seat equitation patterns, and creating a YouTube channel. That way coaches can watch prospective riders in different situations and during multiple rides.
In recalling her recruitment process, she shared that the coaches invite recruits to the school. The recruits get a tour of campus, housing, as well as the barns. After the tour, the recruits are brought together to introduce themselves and answer any questions they may have. Unfortunately, for Sierra, her recruit day was in the middle of COVID lock down, so she was not able to experience the day herself.
Both Casey and Sierra have had great experiences riding for Delaware State University.
The Appaloosa community is fortunate to have such fine young ladies represent us on the NCAA stage.
