what is RMWC? Not familiar with it.
Just gonna jump on here with my personal experience.
I have a degree in Accounting and a minor in Equestrian Science. I will echo that many of the equestrian classes will be crazy easy for you if you have actual experience with horses. And that getting a working student position is more valuable.
I’ll also say that the school I went to showed actual shows and not against other colleges. I liked this better. You got to show against professionals and get real world show experience. And I liked actually working with a horse and improving us both rather than just catch riding. But I do ride dressage so opinions may be different on that. I also belive that dressage only showed through first level while I got to show through fourth riding in actual shows.
Just something else to think about.
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As someone who did ride IHSA through all four years of college at a school that had a program that regularly won it’s Region, Zone, and often placed top 10 at Nationals each year - I strongly recommend considering your college choices as a whole first and then figuring out your riding. I was also someone who had ridden all their life (a little different from you in that I didn’t have my own horse and had no junior record to speak of - was just not in the cards financially for us). I had always been told that it was better to have more experience and no show record for IHSA because then you could compete at a lower level than your experience.
However, I quickly found out (and I will caveat that this was just my personal experience at this specific school and am not speaking for all teams/experiences) that at my school, the only students who received attention from the head trainer and received showing opportunities were students who had lengthy show records as juniors and had been recruited by the head trainer for the team. The team was perfectly happy to have you (after all we were useful for things like holding horses during horse shows, tacking up, grooming etc - but we were never given the same level of attention or instruction as those “A” team riders). So looking back if I had to do it over again, I would make sure that whatever school I picked aligned with my academic and future career interests and then figure out riding later (even if that meant no team and finding opportunities to ride outside of school).
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Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became known as Randolph College.
The school gave our oldest daughter a scholarship for her academic success (she was in the top ten of high school class of 870), scored very high on both the SAT & ACT tests and RMWC was recruiting students from Texas.
The school at that time was a good choice for her. If it were today, Sweet Briar would be the choice.
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OP, @adultammylife offers some really good advice - you should choose your college based on academics, student life, and future prospects first and then figure out your riding. It sounds like you have access to your own horse, so you will probably have an easier time getting riding time in than many of us for whom IHSA was our only riding opportunity in college.
My IHSA experience was quite different than above - we were also a club team, but our region was known to have many “unlimited” shows where the number of riders a team could bring wasn’t capped. This enabled us to bring many riders to many of our shows. That said, the instruction was NOT what I was used to coming from the barn I rode at in high school - but I kept going because that’s all that was available to me. No regrets - the horse I ended up buying after college came from my old coach and I knew her well before buying her. I was a very average rider with no rated show record, but I was able to compete in IHSA often enough to keep me satisfied while balancing a busy school schedule as well.
IHSA teams are all very different and each school has a different culture around theirs. Some regions have plenty of access to horses and can offer more rides, while others will only be able to take their most competitive riders to shows. Some teams have school horses that are old equitation campaigners stepping down into semi-retirement, whereas others are typical schoolies who can be difficult to bend in one direction or stubborn about their lead changes. It would help for you to find schools that you’re interested in, and if they have a team, see if they can connect you with current or former members who can speak to their team experience. That will give you the best insight as to whether or not it will be a good fit for you. And feel free to PM me if you’re considering any schools in Southeastern PA, Delaware, or the eastern shore of Maryland because if so, chances are I competed against them at some point and may be able to give you my take.
Lots of good advice here. A couple more points: pick the university/college with the best academics in your field of interest and an overall strong reputation that offers good connections for their graduates. I tell my family: go to the most well-known school you can get into, name recognition is very helpful, but that is just my personal preference and not everybody’s cup of tea. Just keep in mind that many schools have IHSA teams that you might not expect: Upenn, Princeton, Stanford, Georgetown, GW, etc. Go for it!
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It’s been a few days and I’ve had a few more thoughts about this. OP, I would start by thinking really hard about what you want in your future. I don’t necessarily mean figure out your exact career path, but think about how you envision horses fitting in. If you know for fact that you want to and can handle the pro/groom life, then I would say go for it, but be smart. If you just want to keep riding and have horses, then start thinking about a career you would be content enough doing that can support horses.
If you want to go pro, I think the best path would be to get in to a college and defer for a year. Do a working student gig and make connections. It’ll help you decide if doing horses all the time is what you really want to do and you have an out at the end of that year if things don’t go well. Go to college for business. You said you’re in New England, so I can tell you that the University of [insert your state] has a good business program and you can get through with minimal debt. There are a lot of pros who could really use a business degree. On your summers, use your connections to work with some good pros. Then when you graduate, those connections will be in place for a new job. It’s also worth noting that all six New England state flagship universities have IHSA teams, some very good. URI, UVM, and UConn are all regular region winners.
If you just want horses in your life (as opposed to being your life), find a career that you would be happy enough doing that can support your horse habit. Major in something you find interesting because that will make college so much more enjoyable. A lot of people don’t end up in the same career field as their major unless they’re in a specialized science and that’s fine. While you’re there, just like with the working student gig, make connections. Do internships over your summers and build more so you’re set up when you graduate. In terms of riding during college, there are so many colleges with IHSA teams that you’ll definitely find your fit. There’s a perfect school for everyone.
This is just a little plug at the end, but if you go the career path rather than pro path, think about women’s colleges even if you don’t think you’d fit in. I didn’t think I would ever go to a women’s college, but it grew on me after I visited a time or two. Most of them have IHSA teams and the Seven Sisters network has some of the best connections you could get. They’re very supportive of each other.
my son worked as a race track exercise rider who had his track card for Churchill Downs with the intent to enter the Un of Louisville College of Business which has a Business Management degree program with an Equine management rider.
the program is not one that focuses on how to operate a little stable but how to run the businesses related to the equine industry
the only undergraduate equine program in the world located in an AACSB accredited college of business, our core business administration classes combine with 27 hours of specialized education, focusing on equine enterprises and event management.
I concur. Go to college to get a very solid education. You have your entire life to ride. And there are many riding programs that are considering shutting down due to finances. You need to find a profession - college does not always become necessary either to get what it takes to have a profession - one that will be around in 10 years. And a litmus test for a profession - high barriers to entry, can’t be automated, outsourced to India or China.
OP, great discussion and you are smart to ask these questions now. I think you are hearing a lot of posters give you the same advice about riding in college. I’m going to chime in on the degree options.
If you want to have a career where you work and earn enough to ride, think about degrees where you can make some $ and have a schedule that lets you have time to ride. I’m an engineer, and work for a university. STEM degrees vary a lot in pay, but maybe I’ve got a different definition of STEM. There are plenty of biology grads who struggle to find good jobs, unless they get advanced degrees. To stick with a BS/BA degree, I’d think about nursing, or a similar medical field, and also construction management. I’m more familiar with the latter: right now, there’s a lot of demand for people in the construction industry. This degree at my university offers a mandatory internship and the grads have no trouble finding jobs after graduation, with just that level of experience.
If you want to have a career with horses, I’d also explore some adjacent areas: like working with equine reproduction (I don’t know what you study for that kind of work), or maybe working for a feed producer, like Mars or some other big name, or other equine products (Farnam, …). Take a look at the jobs available at those companies (just check their websites) and see what you find, just to get some ideas of the roles and qualifications.
And if you want to train, run barns, and teach, then you have some great advice from other posters on how to navigate that profession.
Congratulations on using resources, like this forum, for information!
If you ride well you don’t need the degree and if you don’t ride well you shouldn’t get the degree but they sure won’t tell you that. There is no one out there that was not on track to be a professional who was suddenly vaulted into success by jumping a bunch of school horses around 2’3" for four years. The kids that go on to be successful were already on track to be successful.
I know a bunch of kids who did not get quality instruction as teenagers and are very inexperienced (even kids that are badly jumping around 2’) and believe that an equine program will jump start their equestrian career. In reality they spend a ton of money on a four year program and no one tells them the tough truth - they just aren’t nearly qualified enough to be a professional rider/trainer. Then they kick these kids back out into the real world with a useless degree and no real improvements on their equestrian resume. I’m sure they learn some useful tips and tricks but nothing they couldn’t have picked up in a month as an assistant barn manager.
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This is great advice. You are really doing a fantastic job thinking about these things as a HS student! Two of the three emerging professionals I know are children of top trainers on the east coast who have been going to Devon and indoors since they were in first or second grade. Ponies, junior hunters, equitation, and grand prix, riding multiple horses 6 or 7 days a week for years. They went to big NCAA equestrian programs on scholarships (Auburn, Georgia). Another younger trainer, however, did go to a college known for its horse studies (Del Valley) and never competed beyond the 3 ft. level when they were younger for lack of funding/opportunities. That trainer is a great teacher and has kids competing successfully on the local circuit on older, safe horses, but is limited in their ability to manage anything but totally made packers. All this to say, go to a school that everybody has heard of (state university is great!) and study hard: learn to write and think critically, skills you can take anywhere to any profession. Humanities are the best for this, though pre-professional programs are ok too. Again, super job considering all these things at a young age!
Thank you!
My family will never have the money for me to go to Devon or Wellington… I lease a children’s hunter and that’s stretching the budget. I am in a situation where I ride anywhere from 1-3 horses daily, thankfully my trainers are great about doing what they can to give me extra time in the saddle. I am completely positive that I need a career with horses (barn manager, trainer, pro groom?)—I know, I’m young to be so sure, but I’ve known since I was about 12… It’s really helpful to hear that people have been successful without going to all of the big shows and being on a big D1 team. Thank you (and thanks to everybody else who continues to add to this thread!) for giving me some insight on this!
I hope that everybody continues to add to this, i’d love to hear more opinions!
there are also other ways to obtain a scholarship offer, my oldest son was offered a scholarship to Oklahoma State NCAA equestrian program from his participation in Horse Bowl competitions (he had been recruited by several 4-H teams …going to their regional and national competitions and he was highly competitive in the Morgan Youth program)
He also was an experienced rider but not near the quality of his sisters who both were natural riders
He did not accept the offer as his plans tracked differently with a then focus on computers (he was Microsoft certified before graduating from high school thanks to our neighbor who is director of IT of a large corporation)
But Oklahoma State did offer a particle scholarship that was substantial and waived out of state tuition
Seven Sisters in the house! As another 7S alumna said to me when we wound up in the same lesson and recognized each other by the secret handshake (or maybe it was the less-subtle collegiate sweatshirts), “If you need a kidney, it’s yours.”
I also went kicking and screaming to my first visit. I was NOT going to be a nun for four years, etc., etc. And then I found a place that felt like home, and turned out to have an amazing alumnae network. I’ve yet to need help sourcing a kidney, but I’ve used it to get and give jobs, and for getting advice on a wide variety of things.
I think it’s great you’re considering all the aspects of what sort of school will make you happy. Good luck in your search. I know the world’s current state of affairs makes things like visits and interviews even harder these days, but I know the right match is out there for you!
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Great to hear about the 7s: rode for Smith for a year and recall a keen rivalry with MHC that involved stealing their banner at every chance we could get. Whole thing ended rather badly with a member of our team breaking out a fire extinguisher and unloading it in a “brawl.” Needless to say, our coach was not pleased.
Oh my goodness! When I was at MHC a few years back, the rivalry with Smith was always there, but we were on great terms with the team. I’m sure my coach has some similar stories to yours though 
You absolutely don’t need to go to Wellington or a D1 school. In fact, all the equine programs are at IHSA schools anyway.
Major in business. Taking four years “off” to study something else cannot hurt. When I was your age I felt like I might be forgotten or lose connections if I went to a non-horsey school for four years. Nope. As an adult things are much much different and no employer will
bat an eye at “I haven’t ridden as much for four years because of school but I’m ready to start back up”. Find a school in a decently horsey area and find a show barn in the area. You’ll need to get your foot in the door, that might be starting with cleaning stalls or grooming or taking lessons. Join the IHSA team if you wish - I recommend at least trying it as it can be difficult to stay connected to campus life if you’re riding/working at a separate barn often. Then figure it out from there. It’ll fall into place as you go.
ETA: I like that you know what you want to do! I definitely encourage you to follow that. But be aware there is a definite moment when you hit your mid 20s when many people who were SURE they took the right path are now switching it up. Friends who knew pro life wasn’t for them are suddenly realizing they can’t do the office job and are becoming professionals. Other friends who skipped college because they didn’t need it are now getting their ammy card back and going back to school. I feel like every week I see a new facebook post about someone switching. You are definitely better off keeping all your options open for now with a “normal” degree and some horsey work experience 
My trainer growing up gave me the best advice, since she had a career in pharmaceutical sales before the took the leap into horses full-time (when she had a husband with a salary they could live off of). “Get a job that feeds the horses, don’t rely on the horses to feed you.” If you go over to the dressage sub, there’s a whole thread about how anyone can hang a shingle and be a “pro” in the horse world - there’s no barrier to entry. No need to get an (expensive) equine studies degree to do so. College is a great chance to learn something new - major in business, sciences, etc. A career in horses can come to a screeching halt with a bad fall (or burnout after working 16 hour days 7 days a week and still living on ramen) - it’s not bad to have a back-up in the form of a degree usable outside of horses.
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I was completely positive that I wanted a career in horses while I was in school… until I decided that I wanted a career in music… and then I moved to fundraising… and now I work as a data analyst in higher education. My point is that what we want to do changes fairly often.
If you are dead-set on having a career in horses, do not go to college. I only say this because if you want to go into horses, your income will be quite low for some time and it is better not to have student loan debt hanging over your head as you make your way through the industry. Go be a working student and treat it as if you were in college. Stay with the same trainer for 2-3 years. Take a few community college courses in business management, accounting, and finance. Find a way to get yourself a nice horse that can handle the higher fences- it’s better to learn on a well-trained horse.
If and ONLY if student loan debt is not an issue, and you are dead-set on working with horses, go to college. I won’t repeat what others have said: horsey area, not necessarily with a team, business degree, etc.
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