The 2017 IEA Team will be open to all Cedarhill riders in 6th – 12th grade. The IEA Show Team will be determined by tryouts being held June 22nd – 24th and/or August 16th – 18th. The 3 day clinics will cost $300 each. The first clinic will be with Jeanne Smith who is a “R” USEF Judge and IHSA Coach at Wofford College. The second is with Lynn Forgionne, also a USEF “R” judge and part of the training team that won the prestigious Maclay Medal and Washington Equitation Finals in 2016. Participants will also ride with Caroline Foto and compete in a mock IEA Show. We recommend doing both as they are an opportunity to learn, strengthen skills, and gain confidence in the saddle. We are very lucky to have Jeanne and Lynn!!
Signups for the clinics are available through the calendar page of the Cedarhill website.
Why Tryouts? We had over 40 showing riders for 2016 and the potential of 37 returning to the team for 2017 not counting any new members. We are entering the 6th season for IEA and the popularity is overwhelming. This is great and we love to see the passion our riders have for the sport but with quantity quality can be lost. In order to get every rider their 5 shows we had to attend shows that did not set our riders up to succeed. Cedarhill hosted an extra 2 shows to accommodate the large numbers which is increased wear and tear on the horses, the property, our riders, and parents. IEA rules state riders can only participate at a given level for 2 consecutive years. Having the Show Team will allow the riders truly prepared for competition to show and the remaining team members to continuing learning and strengthening while maintaining their eligibility. Our goal is to put our best team forward, not show for the sake of showing. The Cedarhill Grassroots series can be an outlet for competition and competition practice until the riders are ready to compete on the IEA Show Team. IEA Lessons, workouts, service projects, and all other team activities will be open to all the members. As in the past IEA members must take at least one lesson per week at Cedarhill Farm.
The team environment that IEA has created at Cedarhill is truly special and one we hope to continue cultivating as we go forward, grow, and change. Please let Caroline know if you have any further questions. We’re looking forward to the upcoming season.