St. Andrews University Support - Part 3

Prior to committing to host Nationals McElveen had to garner the support of the University . She went straight to the top of the University to see if it was something that could be made possible. She first approached University President Paul Baldasare and Dean Robert Hopkins with the idea and discussed with them the benefits to St. Andrews and its students. “It’s a value for our current students. Most people will never be able to experience an opportunity like this one. What our students will learn, experience and the contacts that they will make will be invaluable to them,” McElveen remembers saying as part of her presentation to the administrators. “Putting on this event will be putting a feather in St. Andrews cap.” The Administration was supportive of the idea and gave her the go ahead to proceed with planning for the event. In addition to eliciting their support McElveen also had to ask a favor concerning the academic calendar for the spring of 2012. Traditionally, IHSA Nationals has conflicted with exam week and graduation, if St. Andrews was to host then the academic calendar would need to be adjusted to avoid this conflict. 1


Although McElveen received the go ahead from the administrators, it was up to the faculty at St. Andrews to make the final decision. St. Andrews is unique in that the faculty makes the decisions on the academic schedule. Several of McElveen’s colleagues from the administration and the faculty shared her enthusiasm and understood the experiential benefits available to the students.3 Over the course of the semester they openly discussed and educated their colleagues on the benefits of taking on such a huge endeavor. 3 As the time for a decision came closer McElveen sent an email to the faculty explaining what she would be presenting in the next faculty meeting so that the discussion could continue and the professors would have sufficient time to prepare questions and voice any concerns. The time spent in preparing the faculty to be amenable to adjusting the academic calendar paid off. At the meeting, Dean Hopkins called the vote for the date changes to finals week and graduation to accommodate the IHSA National Championships (in effect pushing the academic calendar back a week) and everyone was in favor. “It was amazing!” expressed McElveen, “It was fabulous and says a lot about our school and how supportive they really are.” McElveen was especially touched when several members of the faculty and staff were able to attend this special event including several from the administration including the President and Dean. “It really gave the administration of the college an inside view of what hosting this national championship entailed,” said McElveen. 1 With approval of St. Andrews and Cacchione it was made official in early January of 2010 that the Governor James B. Hunt Horse Complex would be the home of the 2012 IHSA National Championships.

Social Media Intern, Kimberly Graves, took on the challenge of documenting the planning and organization of the IHSA National Championships that we hosted in Raleigh, NC last May.


Part Two discussed the selection of the hosting facility. Next week Part Four - The Real Planning Begins!

IHSA Nationals 2013 - Part Two

A Hosting Facility

The facility was not the major concern for McElveen. She knew having spent the past decade in Laurinburg, North Carolina that the little town with a population of a mere 15,000 was not capable of providing adequate accommodations for the expected 3,000 people involved in the national competition.  McElveen suggested that St. Andrews host the competition but at a more suitable facility that was also travel friendly. McElveen called up Dale Barnett, a friend of hers who was the Manager of the Governor James B. Hunt Horse complex and a former IHSA rider, to schedule a meeting to see if the dates for the 2012 nationals were available.  Days before the July 4^th holiday, McElveen and Barnett met to discuss the actuality of the national competition being held at the Hunt Horse Complex. With extreme enthusiasm the two spread out their three-year planners and began discussing the timeline.  Barnett’s ability to move other horse show dates around sealed the deal in guaranteeing the facility’s availability to host Nationals. ¹

Social Media Intern, Kimberly Graves, took on the challenge of documenting the planning and organization of the IHSA National Championships that we hosted in Raleigh, NC last May.

Part One posted last week explained the vision of IHSA CEO Bob Cacchione. Next week Part Three - St. Andrews Universty Support.

2012 IHSA Nationals - Part One, The Vision of Robert "Bob" Cacchione

Social Media Intern, Kimberly Graves, took on the challenge of documenting the planning and organization of the IHSA National Championships that we hosted in Raleigh, NC last May. To say hosting an event of that size was a large undertaking would be a major understatement. Over the summer I will be sharing the story behind the event starting back as far as June 2009. Today we start at the beginning with the man behind IHSA Bob Cacchione.

The Planning and Organization of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association 2012 National Championships

Part One - The Vision of Robert ‘Bob’ Cacchione


The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) is the largest organization in the United States (and probably the world) to provide a competitive forum for horseback riders in college. Founded in 1967 by then sophomore Robert Cacchione at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, IHSA currently boasts 376+ college members, and approximately 8,700+ student members in the United States and Canada. Competition is offered in hunter seat and western with over 300 shows a year across the country. The country is divided into 8 zones which each contain several regions. Colleges are a member of the zone and region that fits them geographically. Competitions are hosted by member colleges and lead up to regional competitions which qualify individual riders for zone championships. The zone championships decide which teams and individuals advance to the National Championships in early May. Somewhere around 200 individuals qualify to represent their schools at Nationals either as a member of the team, as an individual or both.2

The National Championship competition moves around the country, usually being hosted by a region or zone. Previous venues include the prestigious Kentucky Horse Park, Tennessee Miller Coliseum and The Los Angeles Equestrian Center Around 200 horses are needed for the event to cover the many classes that are offered and to create a competition that is as fair as possible.

The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association IHSA Board of Directors meets twice a year to discuss all matters associated with the association. At the end of the June 2009 meeting, IHSA CEO Bob Cacchione approached Peggy McElveen the St. Andrews University, Equestrian Program Director and informed her that he wanted St. Andrews to be the host of the prestigious Nationals competition. “The first thing I said was “When?” said McElveen. Cacchione had a vision that St. Andrews could host the 2012 IHSA Nationals at the Equestrian Center. The National competition would have to split if it were to be hosted at the equestrian center. With one side of the property dedicated to the hunter seat portion of nationals and the other side to western nationals, it could be done.

Coming next time the reasons behind the move to Raleigh, NC in Part Two - A Hosting Facility.