Do you know a high school or middle school student interested in college riding? Help them meet college coaches, learn what coaches want, and get help choosing some suitable colleges at… Equestrian Talent Search Morrisville State College, New York September 9-10, 2006 Here’s the deal… If high school football or basketball players want to be recruited by college teams, they use the “combines” to be taught, seen, and evaluated by college coaches in intensive weekend clinics. Talented young athletes are tracked by college coaches from middle school age. We want to create the same format for college equestrian! Starting NOW, Equestrian Talent Search is the clearing house for college coaches to find riders, and riders and their parents to learn about collegiate riding and narrowing their college search. Contact Jim Arrigon at 513/839-5607 or eqtalentsearch@hughes.net to get involved! Riders and parents will be involved in an intense weekend educational event with college coaches as the instructors / clinicians, including classroom seminars geared toward an understanding of college riding and all its options and procedures, and information to make it easier to narrow down college choices. Riders are divided into groups based on age, and will be placed into groups of their current IHSA division based on their previous show experience. Riders will participate in mounted clinics and a horse show in competition with the others from their age/experience group. Mounted clinics involve college coaches discussing skills and mechanics that are commonly missing in incoming riders. In other words, we work on things that will improve a rider’s performance in a college team tryout situation. Each clinician will have specific topics, so kids will hear different presentations from each “station”, and will rotate through the stations during their clinics. Coaches will make careful notes about each rider in all clinics, and riders will have a chance to talk with the coaches about their notes on Saturday night, prior to the Sunday horse show. Based on Clinic performances, coaches will nominate particular riders for the “All Star Team”, as outstanding potential recruits within their own division and skill level. The Sunday horse show will be based on an IHSA format, with riders competing in equitation on the flat and over fences, within their groups on horses they drew by random lot. Classes will be placed and riders will receive prizes comparable to a major national level college show. Riders will also have the opportunity to be placed onto show teams, simulating the feeling of pulling and rooting for teammates on a college team. Individual performances contribute to the team score. The show will be judged by a college coach, who will take careful notes on the show performances of each rider, and will be available to talk about his notes with each rider following the show. The coaches and judge will evaluate the All Star nominees during the show, and the judge may make additional nominees. The panel of three college coaches will select the All Star team of kids who will be top college recruits within their divisions. At the end, the All Star team and Champion Teams will be announced and receive additional prizes. Following the weekend, each rider will receive a “report card” of comments from coaches and judge, and categorized grades of their strengths and weaknesses. Equestrian Talent Search will make available the grade cards and lists of “all star” and other accomplishments to college coaches who request them in the weeks and months following the clinics. Here’s the hook… After the weekend, riders will be invited to tell us which colleges interest them, and we will advocate for the kids by sending their reports and awards to those coaches – we know them all well enough to give them a personal letter or phone call to talk about good recruits. College coaches will be invited to observe the events, and some will, but this is intended to be an educational and evaluation combine, with most of the recruiting activity occurring after the fact. Equestrian Talent Search will actively promote top riders in each age group directly to college coaches and programs who would fill the needs of each individual rider. Regardless, top riders in each age group will be reported to any coaches who request. Each rider will have a “Bio Page” in a catalog available to coaches, instantly representing riders’ age, show experience, training and background info, photo, and current college level placement. Friday night orientation seminar: College riding associations explained - IHSA, NCAA, ANRC, IDA, etc * How to get recruited * What college coaches REALLY want to see from prospects * Q and A session with college coaches. Saturday mounted clinics with college coaches: The things college coaches want to see- * Proper use of natural aids * Problem areas that will red-flag college coaches in a tryout situation * Things that will grab the coach's attention in a positive way * Specific exercises and drills to improve strength and skills and bring young riders more on the level of a college rider * Practice in specific skills for riding strange horses. Riders rotate through clinic “stations” to get more than one lesson and perspective. Saturday evening is the “college search discussion” seminar with coaches, including… * strategies for narrowing your college choices * Equestrian as a college interest, as either a major, minor or extracurricular * how fees and financial aid work, and what can you realistically expect from riding scholarship programs? * Rating riding programs * Q and A session with college coaches * specific recommendations of college choices that might be a good fit for specific students. There will also be some recruiting literature from particular schools with riding programs. Sunday Horse Show with classes in hunter equitation on the flat and over fences, divided into classes by age groups and previous show experience levels. Riders will draw randomly from a pool of show horses, just like a college show. Everyone will draw again for each class so the judge can see you on different horses. There will be placings and awards like a regular show, in addition to the “all star” awards. Riders may bring their own horse, or be assigned a horse from the host. Participants and Parents are welcome to observe any of the sessions; others are welcome to pay a “spectator fee” to get into classroom seminars. The host college will conduct tours of campus and the equestrian facilities, and there will be equine admissions representatives available from nearby colleges to answer questions about equine programs and activities.  Coaches and judges will name an “all-star team” for the clinic/show Each rider will receive an evaluation “grade card” of skills sometime following the event All catalog pages, evaluations, and videos will be made available at no charge to college coaches who ask to reference them after the clinic. As a rider attends subsequent Equestrian Talent Search combines in the future, their file and reputation will continue to grow! Jim Arrigon has been a National Champion College Equestrian Coach for 20 years, and built a riding dynasty at Miami University of Ohio, and has served as an officer of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association for nearly that long. Jim coached the Ohio State University team to Regional Champion in 2006, and will be coaching a new team at Xavier University in Cincinnati in the coming year. He also coaches the nationally competitive Beckett Run high school team, and coaches riders for hunter/jumper shows. In this weekend clinic, he and colleagues will share the real scoop on being recruited and riding for a college team. Cost of the event is $340 for participation in Fall 2006 events – all clinics, seminars, and appropriate show classes. That fee is reduced to if you bring your own horse. Additional non-riding spectators may observe clinics at no charge, but will be charged $25 to sit in on classroom seminars and Q & A sessions. Deadline for registration is generally about 2-3 weeks ahead of each event, with deposit of half fees due at that time. Remaining fees will be due at the Friday night check-in at the event. For registration materials and travel and hotel information, please contact us: Jim Arrigon, Beckett Run Inc. www.BeckettRun.com, click on Equestrian Talent Search EqTalentSearch@hughes.net 513/839-5607 Equestrian Talent Search Helping college coaches find riders, and riders find colleges! Upcoming: September 2006-new York, October 2006-Ohio, October 2006-New Jersey, March 2007-Virginia, Also Texas and California?