WHY SHOULD YOU ADD EQUESTRIAN?

2006 - 2007 Varsity Equestrian Statistics

Title IX/Gender Equity

The average size of current Women’s Equestrian Teams is 46 with a range from 20 to 85 athletes. Equestrian can have tremendous impact for universities in need of gender equity.

New/Untapped Donor Base

The horse industry has over a $112 billion dollar economic impact each year with over 7 million Americans involved. Many programs have found new sponsorships with feed, animal health products, apparel and trailer companies to name a few.

Student Athletes

There is already a large pool of student athletes on your campus. The number of riders participating in tryouts ranges from 5 to 120 with an average of 40 athletes.

Equestrian athletes tend to be strong students with high grade point averages and graduation rates. Equestrian grade point averages rank among the highest of all student athletes at sponsoring institutions.

Television/Media Exposure

Major networks already carry equestrian activities (NBC, ESPN, Outdoor Life Network, TVG, College Sports TV). The Varsity National Championship has been televised on both CSTV and OLN.

Cost per Student Athlete

Equestrian ranks among the least expensive sports at $3-7,000 per student athlete. Total operating expenses range from $100,000-450,000.

Competition Format

Athletes, coaches and fans enjoy the flexibility of equestrian. Teams compete head to head or in a tournament style format. Each team is required to ride the same horse and judges’ scores are compared across horses. The host school provides the horses and tack at each competition, so hauling horses is not required. The format includes hunt seat equitation on the flat and over fences, western horsemanship and reining.  A university may choose to offer only English or western based on the student body’s interest.

Post-Season Competition

The Varsity Equestrian competition season culminates with the Varsity Equestrian National Championships, the precursor to the NCAA Equestrian National Championships. Each year there are three titles at stake: Overall Team Champion, Hunt Seat Team Champion and Western Team Champion.

ESTABLISHING / MANAGING AN EQUESTRIAN PROGRAM

There have been some misconceptions and questions related to equestrian sports, largely because it is not in mainstream athletics and it involves large animals. We would like to address a few areas that may provide insight into the logistics on an equestrian program.

Coaches

Currently, NCAA allows each program to have one head coach and two assistant coaches. Most programs have at least 2 full time coaches.

Horses

In most cases, programs have met their horse needs through individual donations to the animal science, athletic or university foundation and/or from a pre-existing club team. Some programs choose to lease or borrow horses instead of owning. 

Facility

Institutions with existing equine and/or animal science departments will typically already have facilities on campus. However, the minimal requirements for any program are: riding area, jumps, stalls/paddocks for horses, tack (saddle, bridle, etc.) and storage. Generally, facilities will be the largest part of the budget for an equestrian program. Southern Methodist pays one flat fee per year and the facility provides horse, practice facilities, tack, vet services and feed. Others, such as Kansas State and the University of South Carolina lease a privately owned stable.

Insurance

Current programs have been able to envelop Equestrian within their athletic department policy.

Fundraising

Many programs have tapped into the local horse community to help offset cost.  Oklahoma State University was able to acquire sponsorship for a horse trailer and jumps while securing deals with western wear stores for uniforms. You will soon discover there is an untapped market and unique interest group available to you.