Making Strides with Riding Programs for Young Equestrians
The Youth Equestrian Development Association, YEDA for short, provides equestrian riding programs for youth students encouraging education through competitions, clinics, and networking events. YEDA fosters the development of riders’ skills, emphasizes exposure to scholarship opportunities, and connects with college programs. The neat thing about them, you don’t have to own or lease a horse to participate.
How does YEDA work?
Riders from 4th grade through 12th grade can join the association. Every level includes a walk-trot category to develop beginner students. The division categories and structure were designed to develop youth riders to be complete horsemen, moving through the levels and allowed to ride in various classes, horses, and difficulties.
Like Intercollegiate riding, youth riders arrive at the show and are assigned a horse for a specific class. These horses are brought by the participating teams or brought in for the event by the hosting team. The judges and coaches warm up the horses and ensure they are safe for the particular division and riding level. This ensures riders experience new horses in a safe environment. If a rider wants to compete at the Intercollegiate level, they have experienced a similar program and quickly move into the next level of competition.
How do the classes work?
All riders can choose to compete in Rail Horsemanship, Pattern Horsemanship, or both. There are additional classes depending on the riding level, including:
- Diamond: Pattern, Rail, or Reining
- Sapphire: Pattern, Rail, or Ranch Riding
- EWD and Alumni Riders: Pattern or Rail
- Diamond Elite: Head to Head with similar competitors like NCEA.
What makes YEDA different?
If you are familiar with the equine industry, you’ve probably seen horse shows' good and bad. YEDA works hard to give riders an equal opportunity to show their skills by requiring a standard uniform, ensuring coaches do not pick point riders, and a walk-trot division offered for every age.
Judges are encouraged to judge the rider and disregard the horse, which is also different from most horse shows. Additionally, teams are not required to host a show, so you don’t need to go to a large barn to participate. With teams all over the country, National Qualifiers are based on the top 20% or top ten riders per division instead of one ride or one draw at a qualifying show.
How does this Tie into Scholarships?
YEDA partners with various sponsors and professional organizations to help fund scholarships and educational opportunities for the riders. In addition, YEDA hosts yearly fundraising events, with all the proceeds going directly to the scholarship fund. In 2019, the association awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to their riders.
When are the upcoming YEDA shows?
The YEDA show season runs from early Fall through Spring. Some big upcoming events include:
- November 5-6, 2022 - Colored Breed Congress in Tulsa, OK
- November 12-13, 2022 - MEC in Shipshewana, IN
- March 18-19, 2023 - Foundation Fundraising Show at Henderson’s Arena