Equestrian Talent Search
CLICK HERE to Download Info and Entry packet that works for ANY ETS CLINIC date or location.
CLICK HERE to Download Entry packet that works for ANY ETS BOOT CAMP date or location.
CLICK BELOW to see the preliminary schedules for the upcoming ETS events. (If it doesn’t click-thru, it is because there is not yet a schedule posted.)
Delaware Valley University, Bucks County, PA, north of Philadelphia, ETS BOOT CAMP - September 17, 2022
Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts - February 1-2, 2020
Gargot Farms, Berthoud, Colorado - August 2022
Windhover Farm, Louisville, Kentucky, ETS BOOT CAMP - Fall 2022
MORE TO BE POSTED - CHECK BACK, OR contact us at…
BeckettRunRiding@gmail.com
Lilli Hilgers of California rode at the Savannah ETS and later went on to be Team Captain for the National Champion SCAD equestrian team
ETS does for high school riders what football and basketball coaches camps have done for those sports for years. “Combines” allow young athletes to be taught, evaluated and recruited by college coaches in intensive weekend instructional / competition clinics. Equestrian Talent Search is the clearing house for young riders and their parents to get reliable and actionable information to help them understand exactly what college equestrian is about, how to become involved, and how to find a program that is a good fit.
We have the best teachers from the top college riding programs, hosted at many of the nicest collegiate equestrian centers. Instructors in the past have included Eddie Federwisch and Ashley Henry from SCAD, Mount Holyoke’s CJ Law, Jenn Smith of Goucher College, Jerry Schurink from Bridgewater College in Virginia, Cory Kieschnick from Delaware Valley University, Michael Dowling from Centenary University, and more. ETS Director Jim Arrigon teaches at all clinics.
We’re different from the program in Florida in that we include parents in all activities and have seminars aimed specifically at parents. We get host colleges involved, including campus tours and Q&A with Admissions people. We take the following three-pronged approach to help each individual rider in the ways they need help...
Walking the course with the college coaches.
INSTRUCTION
Riders have mounted instruction with some of the best teachers in collegiate riding, approached from the viewpoint of a college team tryout - strengths and weaknesses and what needs to improve to make the team? We talk a lot about “catch riding,” or the skills involved in competing on a strange horse. All students spend about half the clinic in flat work, and half over jumps.
Worked into the schedule around the clinics are classroom seminars for riders and parents with topics like collegiate recruiting, college choice, admissions and financial aid, etc. Riders and parents take home a notebook with invaluable information involving many of the same topics and more, all from the perspective of including a riding element in college choice.
Later we have a practice show in full show clothes, so students have a chance to demonstrate their understanding of lessons learned in the clinic. Everyone rides in one equitation-on-the-flat class and once over jumps. Coaches walk the jump courses with riders just like they would with their own college riders. They prep and coach on the rail, helping riders through the show experience. Riders are also placed onto a team with other clinic students so they get a feeling of responsibility and dependence upon teammates. At the end of the days there are ribbons for class placings and prizes for top riders and teams, in addition to “most improved” awards.
EVALUATION
Throughout the event one of the coaches is making notes for a “report card” that will be emailed afterward. Students are graded against an expected standard for college recruits, in a variety of categories evaluated in team tryouts. Each category is graded and comments posted, then an overall score is recorded. Specific commentary indicates strengths and weaknesses, and coaches usually spell out particular drills or exercises designed specifically for each student.
Evaluation is for the benefit of students but also may be shared with coaches of college teams that show an interest in the student. Keep in mind that our goal is not necessarily to evaluate skill level this weekend, but as a tool to ultimately evaluate each student’s potential for success as a collegiate rider.
Report cards stay in the student’s file and are updated with each subsequent ETS clinic attended. At the conclusion of each clinic, one of the most important awards is “Most Improved Returning Rider” - the student who shows that she has taken instruction well and can work hard toward new approach. ETS coaches love to see the improvement achieved when students take to heart the critique and the followup suggested in report cards.
Every ETS event finishes with an extensive awards ceremony, including Champion Riders and Teams, and Most Improved riders.
You never know who may show up at ETS - including this event when Olympic Gold Medalist David O’Connor dropped in for a visit, signing autographs and taking selfies with students.
ETS Director: Jim Arrigon, Gibson, North Carolina. Coached 35 years in college and IEA, finishing with the Ohio University equestrian team that finished 4th in the Tournament of Champions Series in 2019. He has coached 19 IHSA Regional Champion teams with 5 different colleges. He is the only coach to have National Champion teams in NCAA, IHSA, and IEA, and is credited with over 30 Individual winners at IHSA and IEA Nationals over three decades coaching. Began at Murray State in Kentucky, best known for Miami of Ohio team from late ‘80’s till 2005, had a National Champion at Ohio State, then coached Xavier riders to Nationals, before coaching a brand new Liberty University team to Regional Champion in Virginia and Holiday Tournament of Champions Championship. His Miami team finished Top 6 at IHSA Nationals 11 times in 15 years. He retired as IHSA’s National Secretary for 25 years. IHSA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and actively judges IHSA and IEA shows. Jim graduated from University of Kentucky where he rode in the IHSA, and he has a Masters Degree in Equine Nutrition.
ETS RIDER PROFILES
Mt Holyoke College rider and ETS Alumnus Mollie Kowalchik of Cincinnati was 2018 Reserve National Champion of the Cacchione Cup class, the most prestigious event of IHSA Nationals. She had the high score over fences, high score on the flat, and fell to 2nd in the final test. Mollie attended several ETS events in New England, Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina before choosing to attend Mount Holyoke College. She posed for this pic with IHSA Executive Director Bob Cacchione, Mount Holyoke Coach Carol Law, and Jim and Gwen Arrigon of ETS.
ETS alum Maeve McLoughlin, Ohio State University alumnus, from Dix Hills, New York, was Top Ten in the Cacchione Cup Championship in 2019, the main event of the collegiate Nationals. She then pursued graduate work in Public Health at Ohio State.
Cary Hundley from Baltimore attended many ETS events before committing to Goucher College. She was a star rider for Goucher, a team captain, and appeared twice in National Cacchione Cup competition, finishing 8th in 2018. She is now on Staff for Goucher College Equestrian.
recruiting and consulting
At the same time we are teaching and evaluating, we are helping teams recruit riders who are interested and appropriate for their programs. We know all the major coaches personally - their philosophies and teaching styles, and the vibe of their organizations. We’ve sent riders to pretty much every team in IHSA and NCEA, and many with scholarships. We open doors for riders to coaches on all the top teams.
We help riders and parents understand all the options involved with collegiate riding and help guide ETS students through the process of finding the right fit academically and socially in addition to finding a riding fit. Our philosophy is two-fold:
Riders want a team where they can compete as a meaningful part of the team. Students choose how hard they want to work by choosing the competitiveness of their team. Some teams are extremely competitive just to get a chance to go to shows, while others are more relaxed and accepting of all.
The right college choice is one at which the student would be happy to be a student even if riding were not an option. Our approach is to find several of those, then help the families compare the riding options of each.
We encourage riders and parents to share ideas with us so we can help make meaningful comparisons. We know all the programs - their competitiveness, strength of teaching and coaching, and social vibe of the teams. Sometimes we can even suggest similar colleges you’ve not considered. Our consulting continues after the ETS weekend by email, and at each subsequent ETS clinic.
We help college coaches find riders,
and riders find the right colleges.
Customer Reviews:
"I am so looking forward to taking her to another ETS clinic... we did CPI this year and your clinic BLOWS it away exponentially! I have told the other moms in the barn this is a MUST attend event! The takeaway info you provided was bar none exactly what I needed as a parent to understand all of this college riding stuff. I can't thank you enough for breaking that down for me." Amy Dvorak, Chicago
"It was an amazing experience and I am really fortunate that I got to be a part of that. I am really going to continue to work on everything that you taught me. Thanks again for letting me be apart of such an amazing clinic." Raquel Bunche, Greenville, South Carolina
"We have been able to call on Jim for information and he has proved to be an invaluable resource. We truly believe Jim took a personal interest in Alex, as he does with probably hundreds of other kids who attend his clinics each year."Williard Famiily, Pittstown, New Jersey
."For a year I've been pounding my head against a wall trying to get info on college riding. So glad I found YOU! Trust me - I spread the word about your program all the time! Keep up the great work." - Cheryl Cintolo, Boston, Massachusetts
"With the help of ETS, my daughter is loving where she is and what she is doing. The journey so far has been the reward and you and the ETS program were the vehicle to get it started." - Brendon Hynes, Maine
“What a weekend!.....organized, exciting, enlightening, eventful, welcoming........thank you. You are providing a great service through the ETS. We appreciate all that you put into the weekend at Lake Erie. We met many wonderful people, learned a lot, and had fun at the same time. Definitely worthwhile.” - Monica, Cathy and Fred Scarsella, Ohio
“Thank you again for providing her with such a great experience. We attended the clinic thinking it would be a great experience for her to ride college horses and get instruction from college level coaches. And you delivered!” - Jan Lord, Colorado
“After I signed (my daughter) up, I had a moment of "buyer's remorse" because she had done a similar, rather expensive clinic last year that she got essentially nothing out of. ETS couldn't have been more different! You, CJ, and the admissions rep from Mt. Holyoke were all so skilled at what you do! The jumping course and teaching… was dialed up a notch compared to… the other event.” - Janet Smith, Newton Massachusetts
“…the clinic portion of your event made ETS much more informative and useful than CPI, and we all thought your program was a much better value. My daughter definitely learned more about riding in college - and riding in general - from ETS than from either College Bound or CPI.” - Bruce Moser, Virginia
“We learned far more than we imagined possible! The clinic exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds, and we look forward to attending others. Carly had a simply spectacular time!” – Vicki and Carly O’Hara, Ohio.
“For a year I’ve been pounding my head against a wall trying to get info on college riding. So glad I found YOU! Trust me - I spread the word about your program all the time! Keep up the great work.” - Cheryl Cintolo, Boston, Massachusetts
“I would like to say how tremendously helpful your ETS clinics have been, not only for Cory but for me and my husband. We learned more about selecting a college and about collegiate riding through your classroom sessions than through any other source. The Q and A time with the college coaches, the presentations by Directors of Admissions.. are wonderful. Your years of experience as a collegiate coach really show through. Thank you for what you do.” - Amy McLaughlin, Atlanta, Georgia
