By Elliette Baker
Bob Cacchione founded the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) with just a couple of kids and a dream to make riding fair and affordable. From meeting presidents and celebrities to attending the Olympic Games across the world, Bob has lived a life many of us dream of—and he says he owes it all to the IHSA.
His dreams all started with Shetland ponies at an amusement park in New York. While his siblings had no interest in horses, Bob yearned to ride and refused to let anything get in his way of doing that, including his financial situation. When Bob had to give up horses to go to college, his love for them only grew stronger and ended up leading to founding an organization that has shaped the lives of collegiate equestrians all over the country. During his first year of college, Bob started a riding program that eventually became the IHSA, an organization that doesn’t discriminate or require any particular financial status. Bob has dedicated his life to the organization, and no matter how exciting life may get, he always puts the IHSA as his priority and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Bob has many people to thank for the organization’s success, including the executive board: Peter Cashman, Kelly Francfort, Cricket Morris, Becky Huddleston, Sherri West, Ollie Griffith, Peggy McElveen, C.J Law and George Lukemire. While Bob has stepped down as director of the IHSA, he has no intentions of slowing down any time soon. With plans of traveling and horse showing, all while remaining very involved with the IHSA, he hopes to keep positively impacting the lives of others.
How did your horse career start?
I grew up in Rye, New York, not far from Playland, the amusement park. When I was young, every time we went there my brothers would go on the bumper cars and the ferris wheel and I went and rode on the little Shetland ponies. That was exciting to me! During the winter they would lease the Shetland ponies out, and because of my exceptional piano playing, both my parents wanted to do something nice for me. So, Dad leased two ponies from the fair—I came home from school one day and there were two Shetland ponies tacked up with Western saddles ready to go! The guy hands me the reins, throws me on and slaps the pony on the backside, and the pony goes running. I’ve been riding ever since.
How did you start the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association?
There were four of us growing up in my family and when I was going to go to college my parents said, “Bob, we can’t afford four colleges and you to continue riding—something has to give,” so I said, “Good, college,” and Dad said, “Wrong!” So I ended up going to college and I had to stop riding. I understood the family scenario, but I wasn’t a happy camper. I wanted to create something that was affordable to everyone, no matter what their financial positions were, and open to anyone no matter what their riding abilities were. So I formed this club with six of us, and we went to go ride at a little county park. They paid to ride the horses and I gave them lessons free of charge. Word got out I was giving free horseback riding lessons, and my club went to 40 members in one semester. The school then came to me and said, “We’re going to put this in the physical education credit as a one-credit PE course next year. Will you teach it?” And I became the youngest faculty member ever in the history of the university. I was teaching all levels of riding while also being a student myself. With some help from the school’s mentors, we put on a horse show where all the members rode random horses. Word got out of what we were doing and colleges started contacting me wanting to be a part of it. The rest is history—I never looked back, and today there are over 350 colleges in 38 regions in the country with over 7,200 riders and still growing.
If you weren’t involved with the horse world, what career do you think you would have picked?
I always admire veterinarians and I always considered being a vet—but I had a tough time with dissecting so I probably would have ended up somewhere on Wall Street.
If you could tell every rider one thing, what would it be?
The world is yours—you create your excitement. Make it happen and keep riding.
If you had a week off, what would you do?
I would probably go volunteer at a horse show, or go on a foxhunt depending on the season. Second choice, I do like to travel and I would probably go on a cruise somewhere.
Do you have a personal motto or catchphrase?
Go for it—you make it happen!
Outside of horses, what do you like to do?
Catch up with old friends across the globe and meet new ones along the way. Along my travels through the IHSA, I’ve met Disney stars such as Hannah Montana’s Jason Earl and Brook Shields!
What occupations did you have outside of horses?
I worked for Cartier for 10 years and I started the wholesale division of Cartier in the United States from zero. Today it’s the number one division in the entire company in the United States.
What’s your favorite item of clothing to wear?
Light-colored khaki pants and a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, very casual
What’s your favorite food?
Salmon and champagne
Photos courtesy of Elliette Baker
