At the heart of the Varsity Equestrian competition format are the team horses that riders compete on at shows.  Unlike the outside horse showing world, collegiate riders compete on unfamiliar horses that are determined in a draw the day of the show.  In the varsity format, one rider from each team will compete on the same horse.  The rider with the highest score on that horse earns a point for their team.  Riders are given 4 minutes with their draws (depending on the event) to figure out as much as possible before they enter the show arena.

For the 2008 Varsity Equestrian National Championships, approximately 132 horses will be brought in from around the country to help teams compete for the a national title.  This is the largest varsity equestrian event put on all year and as such requires the most horses.  Scheduled to come to this year’s event are 29 reining horses, 36 horsemanship horses, 21 flat horses, and 46 other English horses that will compete in flat and fences. 

Host school Baylor University will provide the most horses for the show with 32 horses being trailered over from their home facility just down the road from the Heart of Texas Fairgrounds.  Kansas State University will be bringing the second largest number with twenty horses making the 10 hour trip from Manhattan, Kansas.  Texas A&M is bringing almost as many with 19 listed to make the 90 mile trip just up the road from College Station.

Seven other schools and several other individuals from around the Waco area will be loaning horses to the show.  Eight of the University of Georgia’s horses are making the longest trip from home with approximately 939 miles to cover from Athens, Georgia to Waco, Texas.  The trip will take them over fourteen hours.  Auburn University is bringing twelve of their team horses and will also make a lengthy road trip traveling approximately 785 miles from home.  New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State University, Stephen F. Austin University, Southern Methodist University, and Texas Christian University will also be bringing horses to compete. 

While the number of teams competing for this year’s national championship titles has remained the same as the previous two years, this will be the largest number of horses the Varsity Equestrian National Championships have had available for use.  Last year 110 horses were brought in, and the year before 90 horses made the trip to Albuquerque.  Currently, these numbers only allow for four riders to compete per event per team.  Participating schools hope that the number of horses available keeps increasing each year so that more riders will be able to represent their team.  During regular season varsity competitions, schools now have anywhere from four to seven riders competing in each event, though five is the average number of entries.

Without the generosity of the individuals and schools who bring horses to the VENC, the show would absolutely not be possible.  As an incentive to keep bringing quality horses to the show, Nutrena sponsors a “Most Valuable Horse” award for each horsemanship, reining, jumping, and flat horse.  At the end of the show, each school will vote for their favorite horse in each event.  The winner receives a year’s supply of Nutrena feed.  The National Reining Horse Association also hands out a special award to the Most Valuable Reining Horse of the show.  Both Nutrena and the NRHA are sponsors of Varsity Equestrian and continuously work to help improve the Varsity Equestrian National Championship horse show and the sport of Varsity Equestrian in general.