Foxcroft?

Does anyone have experience with foxcroft? I might apply there. Interested in hearing about academics and riding.

I went to school there for 2 years!
The riding there is super fun with GREAT school horses and with great XC stuff. I’m not really up to date on what’s going on there now. Trainers were great while I was there but I know there have been some changes. But most kids who competed seriously rode off campus with Kitty and Johnny Barker. I don’t know them at all but their students spoke VERY well of them.

TBH, it used to have old slave houses there and headmaster while I was there had only black servants working for her. It felt like being in Get Out. I didn’t like that. She also told my parents that they acknowledge that there are gay people there and that they’re, “taking care of it”. Lol so I guess that means to you what it does. That headmaster is gone now though.

It’s a pretty conservative place with a racist history that they are working to overcome now. They were the last school in the state of Virginia to desegregate. And kids who broke rules got passes as long as they were white and wealthy donors while poorer students got expelled for very minor infractions. And the wealthy kids mostly acknowledged this as a reality too. The student body was excellent imo. Kind and cool and talented. I really love my friends from there still. I LOVED my riding experiences there. But yeah tbh I’m not sure how much they’ve done to overcome their sordid past.

I don’t regret going there at all, but with all the history around it I can’t recommend it either. But I mostly reflect positively on my time there.

1 Like

That is insane. How long ago was this?

That’s true of almost any private school in my experience.
I’m very jealous of the lasting friendships and connections that I see Foxcroft ladies of several generations enjoy in the horse world.

4 Likes

Foxcroft is one of the premier riding programs in the country among boarding schools. Their trainers are top-notch and they participate at the upper levels of competition. There are also individualized programs for athletes to compete on the national stage while maintaining their classroom education with the teachers at the school.

As for the rules of the school, they are enforced but there are always one offs as there are at any boarding school. Most of the athletes focus on their sport and don’t risk breaking rules that may result in lost privileges.

Yeah I agree but it was too much unfairness IMO.

One girl who did her first GP at 15 and her dad was an extremely important business person and donor got a LOT of passes for being intoxicated frequently on campus. And tbh I’m totally fine with them giving her a pass because she really had some tough stuff going on in her life and I think she deserved the lenience and more than made up for it after. You know I’m not trying to say anything bad about her she’s a great person who had a real struggle for awhile and came out of it amazing. But there were poorer students who got expelled completely for WAY lesser violations who were equally deserving of another chance. So I just don’t feel right promoting the school without mentioning those things.

And EVEYONE broke rules tbh so don’t even try to say that oh the serious athletes never did. They all did. 100% of them I promise.