Oh I forgot Berry College in Georgia.
Most of the land grant colleges will have horse programs.
And with paperwork you can usually find a way around freshman housing requirements. Some will be more difficult than others.
My recommendation to you would be go get a bachelors in business at a school that has a good riding program. Be part of that AND have an internship/working student gig somewhere off campus AND work (or volunteer) for a trainer on the road during the summer. (Yes, this will likely mean leaving the boyfriend behind for 3-4 months a year.)
Why?
Bluntly, it doesn’t seem like you have that much riding experience compared to others who you will be up against in the job world. That path will give you another 4 years of lessons, connections in the industry, and familiarity with the culture and language you need to land a job. (Hint: I worry if I ask what disciple someone rides and they respond, “I ride in pretty much every discipline and have been for a long time, but I mostly do english and jumping.” I’m not trying to be harsh, just helpful.) If you have a lot of great horse handling, grooming, wrapping, clipping, etc. skills, you can get your foot in the door that way, and grow from there.
However, you do have a lot going against you. The schedule above will be crazy, especially if you also need to hold down a real down. It’s enough to bring anyone to tears on occasion, so you need to consider how you will handle that. And it won’t get better from there. Horses are a 24/7 and high stress environment. Just when you think you can’t handle anymore, someone else does something stupid or the tractor breaks or the electricity goes out or… Please make sure you have a solid plan in place so this doesn’t negatively affect your health. Also, decide what your priorities are. Does boyfriend really need to go wherever you go? Is he REALLY ok with only seeing you from 10pm to 5am while you sleep? Has he REALLY accepted that there may not be anymore lazy weekends at home? I don’t mean to sound like a debbie downer, but becoming a professional in this industry for those of us without extensive riding resumes is HARD.
How do I know? Because I’m doing it. I love it, but it’s hard. I had to leave my boyfriend of three years in California (nice weather, growing horse industry, place I know) to move to Wisconsin (miserable weather, not good industry, and brand new place) for a job with insane hours and crappy pay. BUT it’s for a nationally known organization that looks great on a resume and is giving me the experience I need to take the next step. I don’t teach except for a few up-downs privately, and I have to pay for all my own training to advance my riding skills.
What I’m saying is, it’s possible, but it’s hard. What allowed me to do it was 1) Graduating with a 4 year degree debt free 2) Being realistic about my skills and taking jobs that weren’t exactly what I was looking for 3) Interviewing really well, 4) Working my ass off and studying horses/riding non-stop, and 5) Getting lucky. I now love my job, and after a year of 80-100 hour weeks, I’m now working 40-60, have my own horse, and the boyfriend just moved her this month. (The pay still sucks though. :lol:)
Good luck. Keep reading COTH. It was a huge educational tool for me since I didn’t have the money to be in full and proper training programs.
[QUOTE=LawsofMurph;7983941]
I just graduated college and am still not ready to be an adult!
;)[/QUOTE]
Well, there are those who say I’m still not one, despite being out of school for many years!
My boyfriend is graduating in the next few month with a culinary major, so he can find a job rather easily and I do have the support from my parents as well. Thanks so much for your help! 
Thanks!
Thanks everyone who commented with your opinions, it’s greatly appreciated, and trust me I took none of it harshly for those who thought I might. I definitely have a lot to think about and consider!
I would suggest MTSU then. Boyfriend would be close to Nashville. Lots of up and coming restaurants.
I am an academic advisor at the university where I am a graduate student, so I am familiar with a lot of different paths students can take to eventually getting their bachelor’s degree (which, IMO, you should get, in any field). If you are comfortable taking online courses (and some students aren’t, since it takes quite a bit of self-motivation to still do the homework when you don’t have any face-to-face meetings with your professor), there are an increasing number of nonprofit universities that offer entire degrees online, which means you wouldn’t have to move there. Southern New Hampshire University and Arizona State are two that I know of, but there are more. If you get your associate’s degree first, and then go on to a bachelor’s program, the associate usually fulfills all your gen ed requirements, which means all you have left are major classes and electives. So if you are thinking of getting a job as a working student, you could take courses part time at a local community college (which is almost always cheaper than a four-year university) and finish your associate’s, which you can then use to fulfill your gen ed requirements at a four-year university. Then you can plug away at whatever major you want with online classes. Taking classes on top of being a working student will certainly be a lot of work, but perhaps being a part-time student taking online classes is the best way for you to achieve all you want to do, and will give you the flexibility to live anywhere you want.
I can see both sides on this one. If you can afford it, go to college, get a NON HORSEY degree, join the riding team and do western/english/dressage whatever is an option. Get some showing experience, volunteer to help at the barn. Or trade barn work for lessons (my team offered this option to experienced kids).
If college will be a big financial stretch then I would suggest the online business degree+ working student role.
And, I think sometimes riding disciplines are like restaurant cuisines. The more you say you can do, the less well you can do them! Tell us you do lots is like seeing a Thai place that does sushi, burgers and pizza. I would pick one and really dive in, then once you have some mastery and show experience (yes, you need this unless you are teaching total beginners) delve into others.
Great, he’s got a culinary degree, you’ll never see him anyway and he’ll be too tired to do anything when you’re home. Voice of experience: He will almost certainly start with low pay, hard hours, and kitchens are always hiring because it’s got an incredibly high burnout rate as a profession so there’s always high turnover. No matter which shift you work, if you’re at a place with enough hours for the cooks to live on, it’s incredibly hard. I’d literally rather muck stalls, I’m so burned out after ten years in and out of the kitchen. I had panic attacks after interviewing for a kitchen job this week because I cant’ face going back to it and being that tired and sore again. If MPM were still racing I’d go walk hots instead or take my chances ponying (I FINALLY get a horse with the brains to do it, they close the track…) And I am speaking as someone with an LCB diplome and an associates’ degree. I can get hired in just about any kitchen (bad analogy, pologirl27, good cooks don’t generally specialize, if you know technique you can learn any menu-they don’t care what style you like, they care how well you know kitchen mechanics) but I can’t deal with it. All of us at my last job who came in with more than 2-3 years’ experience already had knee and foot problems, carpal and ulnar nerve disorders, or both. My hip’s shot and I have trouble sometimes closing my right hand (I have trouble carrying a crop now because I lose feeling and can’t grip it.) On the plus side, I can briefly handle 400+ degree metal without flinching and NOTHING grosses me out any more.
Just another reality check of what life with HIM will be like if he’s 'going to be a cook (and he will not be a chef for years, if ever unless he opens his own place or newbie owners take a flier on someone with no experience. And if they did, that means 60+ hour work weeks.) Seriously, google “dating a chef” and a long list of results will come up about how it’s not a lot of fun. There’s a reason most of us drink or worse. It’s hot, dirty, exhausting work and except in VERY high-end places in a few selective markets you’re talking $9-12 an hour, the higher end only if you’re very lucky.
I would either get a degree that can do a bit of ‘cross over’ (ie four-year, or a 2-year in something not specifically equine) or you’d have to go full into working student to get some kind of real-world experience, and the dog and boyfriend and insistence on no-snow make you a not-very-desirable employee.
The Equine program at New Mexico State would not be a good choice based on what you have outlined thus far.
Agree with those telling you to go to a “regular” college that has a riding team. UVA is probably the best. You say that you can’t be around snow, but you live on Michigan? There are few areas of the country that get more snow.
I would recommend that you focus on “real” world jobs & keep horses as a hobby. Most people who wind up as professionals have been riding & competing since they were small children.
Also, be aware that it is a very hard life that doesn’t pay well for most. Sounds like your BF is going to be a chef which also tends to not pay well for most.
With your challenges, I’d also look hard into finding a good job that could work from home a lot.
It is a big world, with enough research, I’m sure you’ll find the right fit.
Good luck to you!
