IEA

National Youth Board

Youth Board Brochure

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Click on image to download the Youth Board Brochure.

Youth Board National Finals & Apparel Sponsors

Interested in becoming a Youth Board Apparel or Event Sponsor for 2026-2027?  Contact IEA Sales Manager, Megan Taylor at [email protected].

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IEA Youth Board Application

Applications for the 2026-2027 Youth Board are now OPEN. 

2026-27 Youth Board Application

Note: This application is a Google form and you will need to have/use a Gmail account to complete it. 

IEA Youth Board Application Requirements

  • Have two years of IEA experience as an active member.
  • Riders applying must be in 8th – 12th grades to be eligible.
  • Riders must complete and submit the entire Youth Board Application posted above.
  • Rides must submit TWO references. One IEA related reference and one NON-IEA related reference. 

If you have any questions about the Youth Board or the application process, please feel free to contact the Youth Board Advisors, Susan Wentzel or Montana McKnight.

IEA Youth Board Declaration of Candidacy

IEA rider members who wish to sit on the Youth Board must:

  • Have two years of IEA experience as an active member;
  • Complete all IEA Youth Board application requirements;
  • Applicants must choose to run for either Hunt Seat, Western, or Dressage. Cross over riders must declare a discipline for which to run;
  • Riders applying must be in 8th – 12th grades to be eligible.
 IEA Youth Board Breakdown: 
 
  • 11 Hunt Seat representatives
    • One representative per Hunt Seat Zone
  • 6 Dressage representatives
    • One representative per Dressage Zone
  • 6 Western representatives
    • We are looking for representatives that cover the different geographical areas for Western. 

IEA Youth Board Duties

The IEA Youth Board members will:

  • Act as a voice for the IEA membership population;
  • Meet monthly via conference call/Zoom to discuss issues;
  • Assist with presentation of class awards at IEA National Finals;
  • Assist in social media contributions (online games, contests, activities, photo journals, etc.);
  • Promote the #rideiea hashtag on social media through official youth board postings;
  • Represent the IEA as youth ambassadors at various outreach and marketing programs throughout the year;
  • Research and promote potential scholarship opportunities for IEA members;
  • Lead a meeting for all IEA members in their zone at their zone show;
  • Hold one fundraiser per zone per year, with help from each zone administrator and approval of youth board advisor. Funds raised may benefit the IEA, some other philanthropic cause (i.e therapeutic riding), or a combination of both.

IEA Youth Board Statement of Purpose

The IEA Youth Board was created to provide adult members and leadership an avenue for which to hear the youth voice and to offer leadership opportunities to rider members.

IEA Youth Board Structure

The Youth Board will be structured as follows:

Youth Board advisors will select three officers from the previous year’s youth board members: president, vice president, and secretary. 

The IEA has appointed Susan Wentzel and Montana McKnight as IEA Youth Board Advisors for the 2026-2027 competition year.

The student representatives will be elected within their area as described below to serve a one-year team. Past members must apply again.

2025-26 IEA Youth Board

 
 
YB EXEC BOARD:

HUNT SEAT REPS

DRESSAGE REPS

WESTERN REPS

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