Lexington, Ky.—May 6   

In the sea of IHSA horses milling around the warm-up area, Remington is hard to miss. He’s big, he’s so dark he's almost black, and with his gorgeous white markings, he looks like romance novel cover material. "Remi" is a Shire-Thoroughbred cross, not a breed you see every day in the hunter/jumper world.

But that didn’t stop Remi from jumping a spot-on round with Emily Kowalchik to help her win the alumni over fences class. 

There isn’t an award for the busiest student at the IHSA National Championships, but if there were, it would go to Shelby Cashman. Captain of both the English and Western IHSA teams at Centenary College (N.J.), and daughter of IHSA vice president and coach of the West Point (N.Y.) team, Peter Cashman, Shelby is as diverse a rider as she is busy.

“[My parents] both coach at West Point now, and when they started there they had to teach both English and Western, so it was just part of growing up,” Shelby said. “We always did both.”

Lexington, Ky.—May 5  

Graduating from college, getting your first "big kid" job, moving up to the open level at IHSA—this period of IHSA riders' lives is all about growing up.

But IHSA National Championships open over fences national champion Chase Boggio didn’t forget where he came from when he trotted into the Alltech Arena for the work-off, moving up from second place to snag the championship. One of the first people he accepted congratulations from was his childhood trainer Christina Schlusemeyer.  

West Springfield, Mass.—May 2

West Springfield, Mass.—May 1

The IHSA Nationals are a unique competition with their own rules and a special sense of community.

Adaptability, ability to think in the moment and a cool head under team pressure are paramount, and we know these to be the cornerstones of catch-riding as well. But IHSA mounts are unique, too, and require a unique style of catch-riding.

So does this competition—there’s nothing like it. And like all disciplines within the horse world, IHSA gets its fair share of grief from advocates of other disciplines. But did you know…