WELLINGTON, FL – JANUARY 6, 2014 – The 2014 College Preparatory Invitational (CPI) is pleased to announce participation of a large roster of top-tier colleges and universities at its fourth annual competition on March 28-30, 2014 at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center (JBEC) in Palm Beach, FL.
Welcoming college-bound hunt seat and equitation riders at the nation’s premier College Equestrian Recruiting Event, the 2014 CPI is honored to announce the participation of the following 23 colleges/universities:
Albion College (Albion, Michigan); Becker College (Worcester, MA);
Cazenovia College (Cazenovia, NY); Centenary College (Hackettstown, NJ);
Delaware Valley College (Doylestown, PA); Drew University (Madison, NJ);
Florida International University (Miami, FL); Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL);Maryville College (Maryville, TN); Miami University of Ohio (Oxford, OH);
Mississippi College (Clinton, MS); Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA);
Randolph College (Lynchburg, VA); Savannah College of Art & Design (Atlanta, GA);
Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY); Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX);
United States Military Academy (Westpoint, NY); University of Findlay (Findlay, OH);
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL); University of Miami (Miami, FL);
Virginia Intermont College (Bristol, VA);Wesleyan College (Macon, GA); and
William Woods University (Fulton, MO).
The mission of the 2014 CPI is to prepare and educate equestrian students — grades 9 -12 – about the format of college equestrian competition, encourage academics and horsemanship, and to provide students with resources to design their desired collegiate equestrian experience.
Coupled with the equestrian competition, the event will offer scholarships, seminars and Q & A sessions designed to provide students and their families with information on the equestrian collegiate experience as well as the different associations that govern collegiate riding. These special presentations will include:Natalie Zara Burton, Interim Head Coach at Southern Methodist University; Peter Wylde, World class and Olympic show jumping equestrian; Dr. Karin Bump, Professor of Equine Business Management, Cazenovia College; Peter Cashman, Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Director at Large and United States Military Academy (USMA) Head Coach; Dr. Weston Davis, Surgeon, Palm Beach Equine Clinic; Eddie Federwisch, Director of Equestrian Studies at Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA; Randi Heathman, Independent Education Consultant; and Roxane Lawrence, Executive Director, Intercollegiate Equestrian Association (IEA).
Dr. Karin Bump
Dr. Karin Bump will speak about equine academic offerings across the US. She will detail those types of offerings, types of degrees, educational focuses, and how those offerings and educational focuses fit into different career fields and aspirations.
Dr. Karin Bump, PAS, PhD, is a professor of Equine Business Management at Cazenovia College as well as Director of the National Association of Equine Affiliated Academics. She has been involved in the equine industry since her youth and been employed in leadership roles within the field of equine academic offerings for the past 24 years. As part of her research interests, Dr. Bump has traveled the country visiting colleges and universities and, together with her husband and business partner Tim Williams, developed a national database of undergraduate educational offerings in the equine discipline.
Natalie Zara Burton
Natalie Burton, Interim Head Coach at Southern Methodist University, will focus on recruitment and life as a Student-Athlete in the NCEA. During Barton’s tenure, the SMU equestrian team has qualified for the NCEA National Championships for the last two years and made it to the second round of the tournament for the first time in the school’s history.
Burton rode at Auburn where she won the 2004 individual national championship in hunt seat equitation on the flat and was part of the 2006 team national championship. In addition to riding at Auburn, Burton was Co-Chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She also earned the Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship and was a member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Peter Cashman
Peter Cashman, who will be serving as the 2014 CPI Show Manager in addition to making a special presentation, will focus on how students, competing in IHSA competitions, can maximize their horses and their riding while under the watchful eyes of a judge.
Cashman grew up in the harness racing industry where he began his career as a groom and quickly rose to second trainer for some of the major racing stables in the country. Soon after, he opened his own public stable. In the mid-eighties, he made a career change and took on the position of Director of Riding at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point where he oversees a 50 stall barn, a lesson program, the USMA Cadet Equestrian Team and the Army Mules. Along with his wife Sherry Cashman, co-coach of the USMA teams, the Cashmans have built the program into a highly competitive unit and have sent seven American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) riders to Nationals as well as individuals in Western and English.
Cashman was awarded the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Coach of the Year in 2008 and has served on the IHSA Board of Directors for over 20 years. He has held numerous positions in the IHSA, from regional president, zone chair, and is currently Director at Large and Chairman of the IHSA National Horse Show Committee.
Dr. Weston Davis
Dr. Weston Davis, a graduate from the University of Florida College Of Veterinary Medicine in 2008, will focus on general veterinary and health welfare for horses.
For his knowledge and promise in the equine arena, Dr. Davis was awarded the Barbaro Gulfstream Scholarship, the Calder Race Course Scholarship, and the Student Award for Excellence in Large Animal Surgery. After graduation, he completed an Internship in Sports Medicine and Surgery at Oakridge Equine Hospital. This was followed by a Residency in Equine Surgery at North Carolina State University. In 2012, he became board certified in Large Animal Surgery by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He spent a year and a half as a staff surgeon at a private practice referral center in Texas before joining Palm Beach Equine.
His special interests are the diagnosis and treatment of lameness in equine athletes. Professional strengths are minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery, regenerative therapies and advanced imaging (MRI, CT and Ultrasound). He has authored/coauthored publications on topics including colic surgery in performance horses, MRI diagnosis of tendon lesions, and novel imaging and surgical techniques.
Eddie R. Federwisch
Eddie Federwisch will address students and families on the importance of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) to the combined collegiate and equestrian communities. The IHSA has grown and developed since it was established in 1967 through the prototype competition program Bob Cacchione (with the help of his professor Jack Fritz) started when he was an 18-year-old sophomore at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
Federwisch, a highly accomplished horseman, riding trainer and show hunter/jumper judge, has served as a regional president and Director at Large for the IHSA since 1996. Additionally, Federwisch served as the Chairman of the IHSA Hunter Seat Committee for eight (8) years as well as the Director of Equine Studies and coach of the IHSA Hunter Seat team at Virginia Intermont College (VIC), Bristol, VA, from 1995-2013. Currently, Federwisch is the Director of Equestrian Studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Savannah, GA
Randi C. Heathman
Randi Heathman’s presentation will summarize equestrian opportunities available to students throughout their collegiate experience and will walk them through the college search and application process while keeping their equestrian goals in mind.
Heathman is an independent educational consultant whose decade of experience in higher education and lifetime involvement in equestrian sports give her a unique foundation from which to assist families. Heathman holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in communication studies. She honed her craft as senior assistant director of admission at Albion College while also working extensively with their equestrian teams and equestrian program from its creation in 2004. She is an associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and travels to many college campuses, educational workshops, and equestrian college fairs each year so that she can best assist students in finding their right-fit school.
A lifelong horsewoman, Heathman is a member of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the United States Dressage Federation (USDF). Growing up, she competed in a variety of disciplines before concentrating her efforts on dressage. In 2009, she and her Dutch Warmblood gelding Ricochet were named GAIG/USDF Regional Champions at second level in the adult amateur division. She is also a USDF bronze medalist.
Peter Wylde
World class and Olympic show jumping equestrian, Peter Wylde, will speak to the young participants about the pertinence of a collegiate education for students desiring to become professional equestrians following graduation, as well as the benefits associated with collegiate team participation
2014 CPI FACTS AT A GLANCE:
• Dates: March 28-30, 2014
• Location: Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, Palm Beach, FL. Seven (7)miles from Wellington’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).
• Fees: $555 per participant, includes application fee.
• Admission: Limited to 160 participants.
• Applications: Available on line at www.collegeprepinvitational.com
• Equestrian disciplines: Hunt Seat Equitation competitions over fences and under saddle. (Dressage not offered in 2014.)
About the College Preparatory Invitational
The mission of the CPI is to prepare and educate student riders in grades 9 – 12 about the format of college equestrian competition, encourage academics and horsemanship, and to provide the riders with resources to create their desired college equestrian experience. The show is specifically geared to promote college recruitment of equestrians by providing the opportunity for coaches and potential students to meet. The College Preparatory Invitational Horse Show is rooted in the belief that equestrian talent, not finances, should dictate a rider’s opportunity to be a part of a collegiate team. Given the fact that the CPI provides all the horses and necessary tack for the show, riders do not incur the expense of transporting horses to the show.
The College Preparatory Invitational Horse Show is based on the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) and the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) hunt seat equitation classification, where horses will be assigned by a random draw on the day of competition. Along with the competition, the CPI will offer seminars and question & answer sessions during the show. Riders and their families will hear about the college equestrian experience and familiarize themselves with the different associations that govern collegiate riding. There will also be a number or College and Universities present at the CPI to distribute literature and introduce the academic and riding opportunities, including scholarships, offered at their institution.
Because the future leaders of the equestrian business and sport are the college bound riders, The College Preparatory Invitational Horse Show Scholarship Fund is designed to reward those riders that exhibit social conduct and academic excellence as well as competitive success.
The CPI offers various types of scholarships to the student riders. Please visit the CPI website’s Scholarship Page for detailed information regarding the CPI Scholarships.
More news and announcements will follow in the coming months as the CPI draws closer. For more information, please visit www.collegeprepinvitational.com or visit the CPI Facebook page.
