Wesleyan College equestrian team member Audrey Mecklenburg ’22 will compete in Upper Training Dressage Seat Equitation at the 2020 Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) National Championship April 24 - 26, hosted by Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Audrey qualified for IDA National Championship after competing this season in two shows hosted by The University of Florida, placing 1st and 2nd in November and 1st and 5th in February.
The criteria for judging Dressage Seat Equitation includes overall correct position, relaxation and suppleness of rider, unity with the horse, lightness and correct application of aids, ability to maintain tempo and rhythm, and overall quality of performance.
Audrey is a sophomore from Ozark, Alabama, double majoring in studio art and early childhood education. She joined the Wesleyan College equestrian team in the fall of 2018 as an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Western rider with a background as a barrel racer. She added IHSA Hunt Seat in spring 2019 and joined the IDA Team when Wesleyan joined in fall 2019.
Wesleyan College is a member of IDA Region J that includes colleges from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Wesleyan is the only school in Georgia competing in IDA.
The IDA began in 1995 at Mt. Holyoke College with college and secondary schools participating in team dressage competitions. In 2003 IDA became a college-only organization providing team dressage competitions where the rider draws for the horse on which they will compete. Horses are provided by the host school, other colleges, and private owners. IDA is affiliated with USDF (United States Dressage Federation) and adheres to USEF (United States Equestrian Federation) competition rules.
Wesleyan Head Equestrian Coach Catherine Baker said, “I am so proud of our IDA Team for taking on a new discipline and doing an outstanding job in their first year of dressage. Since this was our first year competing in the discipline of dressage we did not have a dressage arena for them to practice their tests. Our limited experience dressage riders did an amazing job earning great scores and placings at each show.”