Horses and their riders will be stepping out for the ISU Equestrian Club’s first Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competition this year. The event, which will begin noon Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday, will host up to 10 college equestrian teams at the Stagecoach Stables in Ames. Amy Jo Thompson, coach of the Equestrian Club, said she and other club members are looking forward to another exciting season and a large turnout for the free event. “[Last year] we had several riders make it to the regional competition,” said Thompson, sophomore in veterinary medicine. Thompson said riders will be competing in English and Western style riding during the competition, in addition to Hunter-seat and jumping events. Riders are judged on how they can control a horse during the Hunter-seat-class events, Thompson said. She said people familiar with the Olympic-style horse jumping competitions will enjoy the Hunter jumping events. Thompson said riders do not bring their own horses to a competition, since the animals are provided for them when they arrive. She said this gives the riders only about five minutes to become familiar with a horse before they compete. “Before a rider competes, they draw a horse [at random] that they will ride,” Thompson said. The Equestrian Club sponsors a competition every year, but Thompson says that finding enough horses is sometimes difficult. “Unfortunately our horse program [at Iowa State] has been diminishing over the years,” she said. The university does not provide riding horses for the club, which means club members have to use the more expensive facilities at Stagecoach Stables, she added. “A lot of animal science majors would like a more well-developed horse program at Iowa State,” said Kelly Hart, senior in chemical engineering and president and coach of the Equestrian Club. Meaghan McLoughlin, junior in geology, also said she would like to see a new horse club developed. “A big part of the curriculum at Iowa State is missing,” she said. “We are a horse club without a horse program.” Thompson said anyone interested in horses is invited to come to one of the club’s meetings. They are held at 6:30 p.m. every other Thursday in Room 152 of the Science I Building. “[The club] is a lot of fun with good people and learning experiences,” Hart said.