NCEA championships ... Watch live starting next Wed......

The nation’s top collegiate equestrian teams will travel to Waco, Texas, April 12-14 for the 2012 National Collegiate Equestrian Championship.

If you can’t make it to Waco, the American Quarter Horse Association, a National Collegiate Equestrian Association sponsor, will offer a free live webcast of the event, beginning at the opening ceremonies at 6:30 p.m. CDT on April 11. AQHA will broadcast the entire event live, ending with the crowning of the 2012 NCEA national champions on April 14.

A total of 12 hunter seat and 12 western teams will compete for a chance to win the three 2012 NCEA champion crowns – Western Team, Hunter Seat Team and Overall Team. The NCEA Selection Committee invites these teams based on their competition statistics throughout the season. More than 300 student athletes from across the country will compete at the NCEA National Championship.

The competition format is head-to-head, where a rider from each team competes on the same horse. The rider earning the highest score on that particular horse wins the point for her team. At the end of the competition, the team with the most points wins the competition. The horse-and-rider match is determined by random draw. To level the playing field between riders and to allow each rider the same opportunity on the same horse, competitors are given a four-minute warm-up (five minutes for reining) to familiarize themselves with the horse and prepare for their competition ride.

Be sure to visit www.collegiateequestrian.com for the tentative schedule of events and to watch the live webcast.

The American Quarter Horse Journal will cover the NCEA National Championship. Stay tuned to www.aqha.com/showing for more updates on the NCEA National Championship.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal or America’s Horse, visit AQHA Publications.