The image of the small shepherd boy taking on a giant warrior with a slingshot is somehow a very suitable one for the recent Intercollegiate Dressage Association’s National Championship held at the Canterbury Equestrian Showplace in Newberry, Florida April 30 and May 1.  This year’s event, the tenth since the IDA began the national championship, consisted of 96 riders representing 60 colleges throughout the US and Canada, all hosted by the University of Florida’s dressage team — a true David comprised of only 9 students and their coach, Bridgette Boland, who also was inducted into the IDA Hall of Fame.

While Florida’s team has won their region and qualified to compete at the IDA National Championship every year since the team began in the fall of 2005 plus they were the 2010 Reserve National Champions, they are small organization compared to the IDA powerhouses that have hosted pervious championships.  Virginia Intermont College, Centenary, St. Andrews, Cazenovia, University of Findlay, and Mount Holyoke all have a college owned riding facility and several equine faculty to help shoulder the burden. Their college administration also provides financial and human resources.  They also have the horses and tack that must be provided by the hosting college as IDA riders do not supply their own horses but select their mounts by random draw. And all except for Mount Holyoke have dozens of students majoring or minoring in an equine related course of study.

The University of Florida’s dressage team had no such support from anyone beyond the IDA itself.  Instead the members of the team, Arielle Smith, Emily Smith, Caroline Johansen, Micah Di Salvo, Sara Edmundson, Elisabeth D’Agosto, Emma Morse, Christina Notts, Stephanie Trappenberger and their coach Bridgette Boland shoulder the burden of putting on a national competition by themselves.  They found horse owners to loan mounts for the show, located a facility to rent, created and printed the programs and with zero training beyond hosting much smaller regional IDA shows handled the myriad details required with incredible aplomb.

Continue reading David Hosts Goliath – the 2011 IDA National Championships →