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IDA - West Coast
The dressage team competes in the West Coast Region of the Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA). The only other schools
that are active in this region are Cal Poly San Louis Obispo and Davis. UCSC does not host any shows so they are held either
at the Davis campus or by Cal Poly at a barn in Atascadero. In order to compete, you must be a member of IDA. Membership forms
can be downloaded from the IDA website. Participation in shows is not required by team members but is strongly encouraged,
and shows are fun!
Levels of Competition
There are four levels of competition: Intro, Lower Training or Training 1/2, Upper Training or Training 3/4, and First Level,
which are determined by the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) standards. New members who have not previously competed
in a recognized dressage circuit will be placed in a level based on their experience and the open spots on the team. Competitors
are required to ride the appropriate USDF test pattern from memory.
Teams
Each team consists of three or four riders, each competing at a different level. Schools can have several teams depending
on the number of horses the host school can provide.
Horses
All horses for the shows are provided by the host school. The horses are put into groups of 4 with one horse for each level.
Teams are given the names of the horses in each group as well of a brief written description of each horse. Each team draws
a group of horses and decides who will ride each horse. Sometimes you will get a really nice horse and sometimes not.
The horses are warmed up by volunteers, who are not competing, and then each group is presented to the competitors in
the Parade of Horses. The warm up rider will typically take the horse through a walk, trot, and canter in each direction.
This gives the competitors the opportunity to assess the horse they will be riding. Each rider also gets a 10-minute warm
up on their horse immediately before they enter the ring.
Any horse that is deemed unfit or unsafe at any point in the competition will be replaced by an alternate.
Scoring
Fees
The Outfit
-Dark colored jacket
-White breeches (light tan is also ok)
-Field boots
-SEI approved black, velvet helmet (or helmet with a velvet cover)
-White, straight collar shirt
-Gloves (preferably white)
-Stock tie
-Straight pin
* Most members do not have all their own gear so don't think you have to go
out and get all of this right away. You should probably have your own pants,
but stock ties, pins, gloves, and jackets are swapped around a lot.
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