The mission of the Montana State Equestrian Team is to provide collegiate riders of all abilities and backgrounds the opportunity to enhance their lives through horsemanship, competition, and teamwork. The Montana State Equestrian Team prides ourselves on our success in the classroom and in the arena. Our riders are leaders, teammates, volunteers, and friends. 

 

The Montana State Equestrian Team competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) in both English and Western disciplines. Our English team competes in hunt seat equitation on the flat and over fences, and our Western team competes in Western equitation rail classes and reining. At competitions we “catch ride,” meaning we draw a horse, mount up, and head into the ring without a warmup. It is the ultimate challenge for a rider to compete on a horse they have never ridden before.

 

Our Western team travel throughout Montana and Utah competing against the other schools in our Region. Currently the region consists of Rocky Mountain College, Utah State University, University of Montana Western, and Montana State University. While our English team travels throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, competing against University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin River Falls, North Dakota State University,  and St. Cloud State University.

​

The English and Western teams hold practices at the Miller Pavilion, part of the MSU campus, as well as our coaches' facility. The horses used for practice belong to the university and our coaches, so riders do not need their own horse to be on the team. Our Coach for both teams is Melissa Main. We also occasionally bring in clinicians for both the English and Western teams each year.

​

As a student-run MSU club sports team, the Equestrian Team receives a portion of funding from the university, however riders do have to pay a fee to be on the team. The Montana State Equestrian Team strives to fundraise as much as possible and secure sponsorships to minimize costs.  We are officially a MSU varsity sports team, with increased funding and opportunities for our riders.

​

If you have any interest as a current or prospective MSU student, be sure to contact us or visit our MSU IHSA TEAM Facebook  and send us a message, so we can answer any questions you may have.