What’s the characteristic that leads a rider to succeed as a Michigan high school competitor in MIHA?
“You’ve got to be able to do it all, as a rider. A rider has to be flexible. What are the sports a rider might compete in? Western, saddleseat, hunt seat, jumping, reining, horsemanship. All classes in MIHA are judged on horsemanship and all riders will do a pattern and rail work. What does a rider learn through MIHA? It’s about broadening your horizons as a rider. The most important thing is that a new rider has to look at the whole picture – what can I do for the team to help. I have a rider this year on my team in Pinckney who tried some gymkhana games and did very well at it. She came out of hunter-jumpers and had a great time doing it. What’s the profile of a winning team? An A division teams have to be well-rounded. Stronger in most areas, maybe a little weak here and there but really it has to be a strong team everywhere. An A, C or D team or even B team can have a weak area and still be competitive. How do you decide if you have an A team, or a B, C, or D team? The Letter depen
