Prospective collegiate equestrians looking to ride on an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association team are encouraged to attend the Junior Equestrian Festival horse shows. The western horse show is slated for January 22-24, 2016, in Weirsdale, Florida, while the hunt-seat horse show is set for October 9-11, 2015, in Westport, Connecticut. Applications are due 60 days in advance of the event or when the maximum entries have been reached.
The Junior Equestrian Festival is an affiliate of IHSA and the College Preparatory Invitational, and the festival provides a great opportunity for student riders from grades 9-12 to showcase their riding talents to representatives, coaches and scouting agents who come from various prestigious schools around the country and are on the lookout for talented student riders who show outstanding potential they’d be interested in inviting to be a future member of their college equestrian team.
The Junior Equestrian Festival horse shows are three-day events with a horse-draw format competition, where each competitor draws a level-appropriate horse for their classes. Horses are provided by JEF for the competition component of the event (riders may not bring their own horses for the competition).
College Fair 
Representatives and coaches from colleges and universities around the country will be invited to the JEF Horse Show to meet the riders entered in the competition. They will provide information regarding degrees offered at their school, their equestrian team, barn facility, admission procedures and available scholarships. Certain colleges and universities may even offer interviews on site. Coaches from these colleges and universities will be able to watch prospective students compete in the horse show.
Clinics
In addition to the competition and the academic components to the JEF Horse Show, there will be a mounted clinic offered to a limited amount of JEF participants. Clinic participants may bring a horse to the clinic. Horses may be provided for clinic participants on a first-come, first-served basis. For western riders, clinic options include with your own horse or a rental horse in both reining and horsemanship disciplines.
Scholarships
Scholarships are provided at all JEF competitions. As an affiliate of the College Preparatory Invitational Horse Show, all scholarships provided at JEF Competitions will be administered and distributed by CPI.
• CPI High Point Western Seat Rider
• CPI Essay Award
• The CPI Written Horsemanship Test Award
• CPI Journalistic Photo Contest
• CPI Champion of Service Award
Applications to the Junior Equestrian Festival horse shows are due 60 days in advance of the event or when the maximum entries have been reached. To apply, visit www.juniorequestrianfestival.com.
