Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Dear IEA Members and Friends:

Happy New Year! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday time with family and friends the past few weeks. Hopefully you squeezed a little extra barn time in with your 4-legged friends as well. We here at IEA have so much to be thankful for this time of year. It is exciting to be already having post-season shows and preparing for National Finals as well as looking ahead to planning the 2024-2025 season. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements over the next several weeks.

For those of you who are already making plans - we've included the basic schedule of classes for IEA Hunt Seat & Dressage National Finals (see graphic below). A detailed list of classes and events will be released with the prize list in about a month. We are delighted our friends at Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) will be joining us this year as we host their National Championships alongside our event.

Vendor Applications for National Finals are available and starting to fill up. This will be a huge event - so make sure your college or business has a booth space! Megan Taylor can help answer your questions on vendor booth options. See info below.

NEW THIS SEASON - There will be a dedicated COLLEGE FAIR during specific times at Finals! This will be a great way for our riders to learn about potential college equestrian programs and talk with admissions representatives. We are also excited to welcome our first adult riders from the Adult Pilot Program to compete on Sunday of National Finals. More updates on National Finals will be released in the coming weeks.

Have you started writing your essay yet for the Dear Marguerite Essay Contest presented by Lettie Teague? Click on the image below to read all about how to submit your written essay. Special thanks to Lettie and to Trafalgar Square Books for sponsoring this unique program. $1,500 in cash prizes will be awarded so put on your creative writing caps!

We look forward to seeing many of you during our post-season Region and Zone Finals. Best of luck to our riders, coaches and teams as you shore up those final qualifying points.

As always, if you have questions, please reach out to us at info@rideiea.org.

IEA Staff & Board of Directors

IEA RECEIVES 2023 PARTNER IN SAFETY AWARD from the CERTIFIED HORSEMANSHIP ASSOCIATION (CHA) during their 2023 CHA International Conference in Colorado.

Photo courtesy of Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA)

IEA Leadership pictured left to right: Susan Wentzel, Katie Schaaf, Amanda Garner, Dustin Boehmer, Roxane Durant, Kathryn Quinlan, Simon Towns, Jennifer Eaton and Kimber Whanger

UPDATE ON THE ADULT PILOT PROGRAM.....

The following are cut-off dates and due dates for Adult points to count towards qualifying for National Finals.

Adult Riders: Check your points on the Adult Pilot Program webpage at: https://www.rideiea.org/opportunities/adult-pilot-program/

QUESTIONS ABOUT ADULT IEA?

Contact Emily David at emily@rideiea.org

IEA Coaches, Riders, Parents and Adult Contributing Members…

When was the last time YOU read through the IEA rulebook?

This month? This year? Last season? Never?

Rules are put in place for a variety of reasons – the primary one being safety. It is important to know the rules for not only the discipline you ride, but the general IEA rules that apply to everyone. Parents and Riders who review the rulebook along with Coaches and Contributing Members, have better success in the show ring, are more confident, avoid unnecessary penalties, and have safer, more efficient shows.

Periodically, IEA will highlight rules/reminders that are needed to ensure your safety. Today, we highlight IEA RULE G2303.1.2 (page 7 in the General Rulebook)

G2303.1.2 – Only IEA Members Coaches are permitted to coach/teach/assist riders in the schooling area and ringside.

To ensure the safety of the horses, riders, coaches, show hosts, staff and officials, only an IEA member coach may be present in the mounting and schooling area to adjust stirrups, and discuss the upcoming class.

Coaches who are assisting multiple riders may, at their discretion, allow a rider to mount on their own or with assistance from another IEA coach.

Read the full set of 2023-2024 IEA Rules & Regulations at https://www.rideiea.org/rules/

Thank you for adhering to this and all other IEA rules – we want you to have a safe and successful IEA post-season!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

The following stories/press releases were released since the last e-newsletter.

Now well into the 22nd season, the IEA has once again set new membership records for the 20th time in the organization’s history.  

The membership milestone success of the past three seasons following the 2020 pandemic finds IEA attracting new members who are flooding into the sport. The addition of the adult pilot program introduced during the 2022-2023 season has also grown to over 230 active adult amateur riders across the three disciplines in its second pilot year. To date, IEA has now topped 14,920 active members this season.

What can $5.00 buy you these days?

A cup of fancy coffee? A birthday card? A drive-through cheeseburger. Chapstick?

Five dollars. Five bucks. One dollar for each finger on your hand. Five.

It may not seem like $5.00 can buy much these days, but what would your five dollars mean to IEA? With thousands of IEA members and alumni nationwide – if ONE THIRD of our past and present membership donated just $5.00 each – we would reach our fundraising goal for providing scholarship dollars to graduating seniors and replenishing the IEA Benevolent Fund this season and for the future.

The Fund that sends money to help IEA coaches who have lost horses in a tragic barn fire. The Fund that allows a talented young IEA rider whose family struggles to keep their heat on participate in riding lessons. The Fund that helps a coach get back on their feet after a life-threatening illness has set them back a year. The Fund that gives opportunities where there may otherwise be none. THAT Fund.

Five dollars. Will YOU lend us a hand?

IEA – Inclusive. Equitable. Affordable.

IEA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and GuideStar Gold Seal charity.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, visit www.rideiea.org/donate

Thank you.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHTS

OFFICIAL WESTERN SADDLE OF THE IEA

OFFICIAL SHOW CLOTHING OF THE IEA

Interscholastic Equestrian Association

NEW ADDRESS

Membership Office

4 Railroad Avenue

Wakefield, MA 01880



Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00am - 4:00pm EST

Phone: 877-RIDE-IEA | 877-743-3432

Fax: 508-597-7373

www.rideiea.org | info@rideiea.org

Marketing & Communications Office

509 S. Otterbein Avenue, Suite 9

Westerville, OH 43081

National Office (Send Donations Here)

P.O. Box 809

Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

IEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers:

• President: Amanda Garner
• President Elect: Katie Schaaf
• Secretary: Samantha Fleming
• Treasurer: Christy Landwehr

Founding Board Members & Designees:

• Designee for Roxane Durant (Founding Member): Hannah Bentz 
• Designee for Wayne Ackerer (Founding Member): Nancy Arledge

Members At Large:

• Dustin Boehmer
• Leah Fiorentino
• Katie Morehead-Oman
• Cathy Muzzy 

Non-Voting Members:

• Roxane Durant
• Susan Wentzel
• Kathryn Quinlan
• Simon Towns

Director Emeritus:

• Timothy J. Boone
• Myron Leff

Follow us at @rideiea and #rideIEA