The UCD western team consists of approximately 30 individials, of which, about 15 members actively compete intercollegiately.

The western team competes under IHSA rules, against other colleges in our region. Some schools include: CSU Fresno, Bakersfield College, Stanford, UN Reno, Cal Poly SLO, and UC Santa Cruz. All schools within the region are invited to compete at every show.

All riders compete in "catch riding", where the university provides horses for the riders, and riders draw their mounts out of a pool of horses selected for each class.

Each team and individual works off a point system 7pts. for 1st, 5 for 2nd, 4 for 3rd, 3 for 4th, 2 for 5th, and 1 for 6th place. Each individual tries to earn 35 points to "point out" in their division, and move into the next higher class. Points carry over across subsuquent years.

Rachel Hutchings riding in her intermediate class.

Susan Patch riding in her walk/jog class at Bakerfield.