Riders Interscholastic Federation of North America, Inc. (RIFNA) began with a dream --  or more accurately at IN YOUR DREAMS Farm – while trying to find a way to bring the equestrian sport to middle and high school students. Even while moving from the Midwest to the Northeast to the South, Anita Ryan’s love of horses and riding was never forgotten and her commitment to share this love with others continued to grow. 

In 1994, she opened the doors of In Your Dreams Farm, Inc. (IYD), a multi-faceted equestrian center located in Alpharetta (Cherokee County), Georgia.  In addition to its training and boarding programs, the facility has hosted horse shows, TV shows, and many other events.  IYD was the host training facility for the U.S. Equestrian Show Jumping Team during the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia – the team won the team silver medal and IN YOUR DREAMS earned a Mayor’s Proclamation from the City of Alpharetta.   

Anita continued to support her daughter Keely’s equestrian showing career and continued searching for ways to broaden the equestrian sport’s accessibility to other children.  Keely earned her “masters degree in Stable Management” at In Your Dreams Farm before obtaining her marketing and management degree at Virginia Intermont College (V.I.) in 2002.  She then returned to In Your Dreams Farm to assume leadership of its riding academy.  Shortly after, Keely became the coach of Emory University’s Intercollegiate Horse Showing Association (IHSA) team. 

In 2003, Anita and Keely began working with some of the schools in their area to find a way to bring equestrian team sports to the middle and high schools.  Through much research, it was concluded that a national clearinghouse of information and point tracking for all the equestrian disciplines was needed for public and private schools in order to promote interscholastic equestrian sport.  This need for a national clearinghouse was the catalyst for founding Riders Interscholastic Federation of North America, Inc. (RIFNA).  In 2004, RIFNA came to be with Anita Ryan in the role of Chief Executive Officer and Keely Ryan in the role of Vice President/Director of Operations for RIFNA. 

RIFNA’s goal is to utilize and partner local farms with schools for practices and competitions in up to three disciplines -- dressage, hunter/jumper, and western.  Through this partnering, RIFNA students of all economic backgrounds are given the opportunity to learn equine science, to gain confidence by mastering riding skills, and to participate in and be recognized for their team competitions. RIFNA’s competitions are patterned like the college programs where the host farm supplies the horses and tack for all the competitors to ride.   By gaining show experience and perfecting their riding skills on unfamiliar horses, RIFNA riders are able to compete successfully for equestrian college scholarships and scholarships directly from RIFNA.

The beauty of RIFNA is that it supports the students, schools, and farms in doing something they all love.