LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College Equestrian team will host its first show of the 2023-24 season with the FSC Fall IHSA Hunt Seat Show on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the English Oaks Equestrian Center.
 
FSC IHSA Hunt Seat Show
Date – Oct. 28, 2023
Times – The show will begin at 9 a.m. and extend throughout the day
Location – English Oaks Equestrian Center, 4815 Medulla Rd, Lakeland, Fla. 33811
Spectator Note – Admission is free with on-site parking available. Concessions will be available for purchasing meals, snacks, and drinks. Bring your own lawn chair to relax during the day's rides.
 
Florida Southern hosted its first-ever equestrian show in the spring of 2023 and again will host 13 teams and over 180 rides through the day's events. The Mocs will host the fall show this weekend after opening the 2023-24 season last week with two shows hosted by the University of Florida. FSC finished 10^th out of 13 teams on day one of competition and seventh overall on day two with Maddy McLean highlighting the events with two first-place ribbons.  
 
"We are super excited to be hosting the FSC Fall IHSA Horse Show again this year," said head coach Shannon Morrell. "Almost half of our team last year was made up of graduating seniors. Therefore, leaving us this year with almost half the team consisting of new riders. All our returning riders have strong foundations and had a very successful 22-23 season. Last weekend at the UF shows, sophomore Maddy McLean had exceptional rides bringing the team two first-place ribbons. I look forward to seeing more from her as well as the rest of the team. We invite the public to join us on Saturday in watching schools from both Florida and Georgia compete in both flat and over-fences classes."
 
Event Divisions
Riders compete in different divisions and are assigned to a horse that they have never ridden before. With no warmup, the riders will take part in different disciplines such as Flat and over Fences in their respective experience division. The divisions include Introductory, Novice, Limit, Intermediate, Open, and Alumni.
 
The events and rides at FSC's show this weekend will help earn points for riders to qualify for the IHSA post-season competition.
 
Participating Teams
FSC's show will feature over 180 rides from 13 teams that hail from the states of Florida and Georgia. Invited teams include the likes of the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, and Savannah College of Art and Design.
 
Program History
Florida Southern Equestrian is a school club with membership to the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) with show season from August through May, culminating in regional, zone, and national championship competitions. Mocs debuted the club sport on October 22, 2016, under coach Morrell, and are part of Zone 5/Region 5 featuring schools such as the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and SCAD. The Mocs have continued to build their roster over the last few years and improved each season. In its second year of existence, the Mocs sent Emily Shoaff and Shona Whitfield to the program's first appearance at the 2018 Zone 5 Championships in a year where Equestrian was sixth of 15 teams at regionals. During the 2021-22 season, Florida Southern had one of its best years yet, sending Kailey Fuchs and Katie Portu to the IHSA Zone 5 Championship after ninth place overall out of 13 teams in the IHSA Regional Championships. Last year, Mocs had great finishes at SCAD, including fourth overall out of 13 teams in South Carolina.
 
About English Oaks
The English Oaks Equestrian Center is home to the Florida Southern College equestrian club. The center has boarding, leasing, lessons, and sales specializing in Hunter/Jumper and Dressage. For prospective athletes interested in joining Florida Southern Equestrian or in lessons, please contact head coach Shannon Morrell.
 
About the IHSA
The mission of the IHSA is to provide equestrian competition for all college and university students regardless of riding level, gender, race, sexual orientation, or financial status. The IHSA is dedicated to promoting sportsmanship, horsemanship, and academic excellence. IHSA welcomes beginners through advanced riders in the hunter and Western disciplines to compete individually or on a team. Men and women compete with and against each other.
 
IHSA eliminates the expenses of horse ownership. Horses are furnished by host colleges and are chosen by drawing lots. The format fairly tests the horsemanship of the athletes. Divisions range from Beginner to the Open Division for the more experienced riders.
 
For more information about the IHSA, please visit https://www.ihsainc.com/home