In a little under a month, I will be heading to live on campus at the college I have dreamed about going to since I was a little girl! Luckily, I am going to be able to move my personal horse to a barn that is only 10 minutes away from campus! However, I am also leasing a fabulous jumper that can’t be moved from my current barn that is an hour from campus. My hope is that I will get to continue riding and showing my jumper throughout college, but I’m nervous that I may not be able to. 
For all of you college students, how do you juggle classes and riding and did you get to continue showing? Thoughts?
I didn’t show while at college but i did manage to keep 2 horses for most of it in pretty good work condition - i think i generally managed 3-4 workouts a week for them each. Plus they were paddocked (on a hill too) not stabled. They were kept on campus so i had to do all the care etc. Thankfully there was a bout 5 or so horse owners on site so we helped each other as needed.
The hour away horse is definitely going to be harder for you to keep going. It will depend on your schedule and work load. Are you working as well? I used to go home to the farm nearly every weekend and work there so i had extra money.
I got through mostly pretty good grades - did botch one exam and had to resit it and due to the stress promised myself i’d never let my grades go that low again.
So it is doable but the reality is if you want to get good grades etc the horses will probably have to take the lower priority. You will need to be committed and focused and able to say no to the other extra curricular activities that will want to intrude.
The first year I went to college I had my horse stabled about 10 minutes from campus. I was lucky enough to bypass the parking pass thing for freshmen so I was able to commute to and from. I was at the barn just about every day. Once you get to college you tend to operate on a whole different time schedule. If you have a few hours between classes to squeeze it in or go later in the day.
The next few years I was lucky to have him stabled on campus. I would be riding at 9 at night sometimes just to get away from everything. I continued to ride at least 4-5 times a week throughout school. It is all about priorities. I got good grades and the horse kept me out of trouble 
I showed a little in the fall and the spring but otherwise everything closes down in New England in the winter!
I think the horse stabled an hour away is going to be a no-go for you, especially if it’s a second horse.
Add in the fact that doorstep to doorstep… your parking place may not be adjacent to your student housing.
That’s basically a 4 hour time block any time you want to go ride that horse, and your schedule may not have many of those, plus the ones you’ll need to ride the close-by horse. Depending on your school and major, you may not have a lot of say in when your classes will be, so our advice about how to juggle them based on our colleges will be hard to apply.
College is 4 years, and it is an intense experience that you won’t have again. There are opportunities to meet new people and to participate in activities via your student status that will go away once you leave.
Trying to ride intensely and college intensely means that one or the other - or most likely, both - will be shortchanged.
Save the money that is being spent to lease the jumper. Put it in a special savings account that is just for that. Once you graduate and are settled in a career, unleash that account again when you can focus more on really enjoying competing a nice horse.
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I concur with poltroon.
Going off to college is a major life change. Who knows what your schedule will ultimately end up being and what you will be involved in.
I would discontinue the lease at this point until you are all settled in and in a routine. There are more horses down the road, but not so with college. This is a one-shot deal and school should be your first priority.
I say this from the standpoint of boarding at a barn with a LOT of college students. They have aspirations of doing it all, but rarely does that happen. Normally the freshman start out coming out often, but as they get more involved with school, they come out less frequently. Then sometimes not at all.
As they work their way through school they sometimes have a semester where they have more opportunities to ride, sometimes not. It’s an ever-changing thing. I KNOW they feel guilty when they can’t make it out to even see their pony. But I always tell them they are making the right choice in putting school first, and that their ponies are happy and healthy and really don’t care.
I’m sure their parents are very happy that they are putting school first as well!
I had way more time to ride in college than I’d had in high school, honestly. You have more control of your schedule, so you could load classes on the Tues/Thurs, or vice versa, and make time to accommodate your needs. It honestly depends on how much you need to study to make good grades. A lot of freshman were nervous of college so took the minimum course load in their first semesters, but I did the opposite - the required courses are far easier than the classes in your major, so I had a lot of hours of classes as a freshman vice senior, but the amount of work was about the same or less in the core curriculum stuff. I was very fortunate to not have to work to pay for living expenses, but I did have to earn any money for horse things in school, which I did by working at the horse barns. I rode at three different farms in school, and had a blast! But definitely make sure your priority is school - I also graduated with two majors, with honors, so I was able to maximize both, and enjoyed the social life of school. Though I’m not a big partier - I think a lot of people lose time at school when they drink too much - so if horses and school and friends are your focus, you should be fine. Good luck and enjoy this time of your life!
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I drove back and forth to ride my first semester of freshman year to finish out the show year on my junior hunter. It was tough- a lot of driving just for lessons and add a show every other week onto that… I was burnt out. Like Lily said, my class schedule worked out that 2 days/week I only had morning classes so that helped my lesson schedule. After my freshman year I rode on the school’s IHSA team and absolutely loved it (Go Penn State!).
This is your time to meet new people, go to parties, join clubs, and study occasionally, I would make the most of your time there! Ah, I can taste the jungle juice just thinking about college. Enjoy it!!
I was lucky enough to have a super low maintenance horse during college that my sisters rode for me my first two years while I attended school 4 hours away. I would come home and show/ride on the weekends but that was it. Then I changed to a school 45 min from our barn and still only made it to him once during the week and maybe once on the weekends. I rode for the English and Western team as well as worked at the on-campus farm and my schedule left little time to shower, let alone get to ride my own horse (especially during my junior and senior year…2 thesis’, 4 hour labs, etc)
College takes up more time than you think it will, especially when you live in a dorm and are constantly surrounded by friends and doing things, but if you can manage your time around the things that are important to you, you’ll be fine!!! It’s a great time to learn about yourself and do things that you usually wouldn’t do because of horsie-related obligations though. So embrace it. Make non-horsie friends. Go out. Eat the pizza at 3am. Drink the dollar drinks. HAVE FUN!
Weigh your options and make the educated decision…and ride IHSA if you can. You’ll make awesome friends, ride some awesome (and some not so awesome) horses, get new perspectives, and HAVE FUN!!!
You’ll likely find time to ride your nearby horse if you plan your schedule accordingly. I know I’m not a morning person so I would always schedule an 8 or 9am class to get me out of bed. Then I might have a 4 hour window between that class and the next to go ride if I wanted.
But I would discontinue the lease on the horse at home. Most of the people I knew who were unhappy in college were the students going home every weekend. They never immersed themselves in the college environment, made school “home”, or cultivated a good group of friends. They missed out on the unique events school had to offer and on an opportunity to finally be on their own. Honestly, for the first year, most weren’t all too lonely; some of their high school friends were still at home (either living or visiting most weekends too). But then their hometown friends would start moving on and building lives and they were stuck between two worlds, but not really being a part of either.
I know at least 4 people this happened too.
Go to college and experience everything it has to offer. Visit your horse nearby as much or as little as you want. But discontinue the lease on your horse at home so you have the freedom to enjoy this unique time.
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I’m in college full time.
I partial lease a jumper, lesson 1x weekly. Sometimes twice if I’m feeling $$$.
I also ride (as a job) ranch horses 3x weekly.
Both my barn and work are an hour from my house. I also work a full time, big girl job. It’s hard. I’m terrible at managing time, but I have found keeping a day planner and being able to sign up for courses at certain times help. I’m more of an AM person, but I do classes online and at night currently, so I can work and ride during the day. My ranch job also is very flexible with what days I come out, as is my riding instructor. She realizes I work a lot and my time can really change.
However, I do plan on switching universities. I am hoping to go to TSU, 2.5 hours away. If my plan goes right, I will quit my big girl job, and I will pick up another flexible part time job and be a college kid full time. I will also live 1/2 in Stephenville and 1/2 in my current town, working for the ranch and riding the jumper.
My SO says he doesn’t know how I do it, and I will admit to bringing myself to tears out of exhaustion. However, horses keep me grounded and sane. I wouldn’t give it up, and I don’t plan on it. All I can say is write everything down, memorize your deadlines and work in school when you can (down time at work, when you’re sitting at home watching TV, etc). I don’t have a social life. My SO is very supportive, but he knows I don’t go out much because I just can’t.
Organized chaos is how I thrive.
ETA: I have read a few others posts. I did not do the “fully immersed college experience”. If I get in my dream uni this semester, I will more than likely go deeper into the college experience, therefore ride less, but I will not be quitting all together. I’m old enough that I am ready to get college over and done with. I’ve been slowly hammering away for 6 years, and it is time to finish. If I could do things differently, I probably would, but I don’t think I would have quite riding.
Ultimately, you have to figure out what exactly you want and deal with the option that horses may/may not be an option.
[QUOTE=Wonders12;8754021]
Most of the people I knew who were unhappy in college were the students going home every weekend. They never immersed themselves in the college environment, made school “home”, or cultivated a good group of friends. They missed out on the unique events school had to offer and on an opportunity to finally be on their own. Honestly, for the first year, most weren’t all too lonely; some of their high school friends were still at home (either living or visiting most weekends too). But then their hometown friends would start moving on and building lives and they were stuck between two worlds, but not really being a part of either…
Go to college and experience everything it has to offer.[/QUOTE]
I witnessed this as well. If your campus has a large resident population, you want to develop a life there on the weekends, not view campus as a place you spend time at for academics and that’s it.
Building a social circle is, for most people, a big part of what makes the college experience enjoyable. I can’t speak to maintaining two horses (one at a distance) while in college. I did ride on an IHSA team (at two different schools, because I transferred) and LOVED that experience. As with high school, I loved college because of the people there and the communities I was a part of. The academics were excellent and got me to where I am now, but the social element is what I enjoyed most and still reminisce about fondly. Don’t sacrifice that.
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I just saw you’re in GA. If by any chance you’re going to UGA feel free to PM me. I went there from 2005 - 2009 and am familiar with the area and riding opportunities
I should clarify that when I’m talking about opportunities in college, I’m not even really talking about partying and getting drunk. (I did none of that.) There were a lot of group homework sets and long intellectual conversations and learning to eat dim sum and meeting people from all over the world and learning first hand what it was like to pursue different majors and career opportunities.
I worked as a freshman in a lab getting invaluable experience in a major I decided not to pursue. There are opportunities for travel, for working with professors, for all kinds of special programs that are available at most 4 year universities for someone who will look for them and pursue them. The classes are only a small part of what makes a university experience valuable. I learned as much from my fellow students as I did from classes directly.
Horses will be there for you your whole life, and you’ll even be a better rider for the time backing off.
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I guess it depends on your major, but keep in mind that a lot of those “empty” 4 hour blocks will get used for catching up on homework or scrambling to finish projects. I think one horse on campus is fairly doable, but it seems like carving out that much time during the week to go home and ride, plus a lot of weekends for shows, would be a pretty torturous experience.
If you really want to keep your lease horse, can your trainer ride him during the academic year, and then you get to keep him for the summer?
I agree with poltroon and others in leaning towards giving college more of a chance. In particular, this:
[QUOTE=poltroon;8754324]
Horses will be there for you your whole life, and you’ll even be a better rider for the time backing off.[/QUOTE]
I sold my big jumper when I went to college. Actually, I still had him through most of freshman year, and went home (5 hours away) as often as possible to keep riding and keep him ready for shows/potential buyers. We went to a couple of shows the spring of my freshman year and then he sold before summer.
I rode gaited trail horses occasionally during my sophomore year, and bought a 2yo during my junior year (I kept him near home). My junior/senior years I finally gave up trying to ride horses completely and focused solely on school. I still rode over the summers, but not during school. This was partly because I was in an area that had pretty close to zero opportunities (and no english discipline barns within a reasonable distance). Perhaps I would have made different decisions if there had been opportunities around.
But in hindsight I’m hugely grateful for the time (even if it was a bit forced) away from horses. I agree with those who say that horses will be there for your entire life (if you want them to be), so college is a great time to step away and immerse yourself in something that you only get one shot at. I joined a sorority, joined several other interest groups, and had a ton of fun (I enjoyed the party time and the ability to perhaps drink a bit too much without having to pay for it in a Saturday morning lesson, lol).
My baby was ready to break after graduation and I threw myself right back into the thick of the horse world. Again, in hindsight, I wish I would have taken a few years away from horses. Financially I struggled to make ends meet for those first 5(ish) years after school, and also from a time perspective between work, new boyfriend (now husband), and the horse(s).
Anyhow, you’ll make time for whatever you want to make time for, since that’s how priorities work. My words of advice (which are worth exactly what you’re paying for them) are to embrace the college world and make that your highest priority for the next few years, and then enjoy whatever else you have time for.
I had a large pony jumper who I had to sell anyway when I aged out, but found a barn to ride at(moved from NJ to FL). I ended up going less and less. Beyond the whole nightlife thing and me not wanting to wake up early, I was missing stuff like people going to the beach on the weekends, this crazy idea of going to the mall on a GASP SATURDAY, greek life (I was on the panhellenic board eventually), school spirit Homecoming week stuff, etc.
poltroon said it right – you will have horses for the rest of your life. I’m so glad I was actually a college student in college.
I leased in college (a lot, not just one horse), it was a nice way to keep riding casually but with no commitments and financial strain.
I’d echo the suggestions to not make any real plans till you get 1 semester into college. See how it goes.
Some people can easily switch gears and pack in a lot, others prefer to focus on school. So much depends on your major. I was pre-med so I needed a lot of time for labs and to study.
While trying not to push my advice on you or echo other people’s suggestions, I will offer my personal experience as some insight.
I wish I focused more on college and not so much on horses. Horses were my passion so I tried to do what I could to make it work. My first semester I lived on campus and luckily my school allowed me to have a car. The ‘school barn’ was about 30-40 minutes away. I rode IHSA for the 3 semesters I spent there before transferring. I was fortunate to get a lot of extra riding opportunities by helping out at the barn but ended up commuting my second and third semester which was tough and lots of driving.
I transferred to a state school about 20 minutes from my house that I commuted to for the next 3 and a half years. I think my biggest downfall was not knowing what I wanted to do in school but I did eventually graduate with a liberal studies degree. I bought my mare as a sophomore and became ‘horse poor’. It was a good experience and I made time to ride but I was also working a ridiculous amount (I paid for all horse expenses). I couldn’t really focus on school but got by with decent grades.
Looking back, I wish that I could do it all over again and do it differently. I probably wouldn’t have bought my horse and tried to focus more on a better career path while having some fun in college and making friends - something I can say that I didn’t do and I definitely missed out on my college experience. Right now I am in the process of selling my first horse and have decided to try and go for my Masters in Elementary Education to become a teacher. Kind of random for me but I am happy with my decision.
My advice would be - ditch the jumper unless you can somehow move it closer to school. You will still have your other horse close by and will hopefully be able to keep your car on campus to get to and from the barn. Join a school riding team or maybe try to start one/start a club if that’s not available. Being on the team at my first school was awesome and a wonderful experience for me. My second school didn’t have a team nor the funds to start one up Pick up a part-time job if you need to but if you don’t, live a little and have some fun, make some friends, focus on school work. I wish I listened to the people who told me that horse’s would always be there because I lost sight on a lot of other things and I feel like it’s delaying me moving on with the rest of my life.
Personally, I don’t regret riding during my undergrad, but I also didn’t beat myself up when getting out to ride just wasn’t possible. I wasn’t reaching for any competitive goals, so it was very much for my own enjoyment. I would skip a ride to go out with friends, or to cram for an exam. I didn’t ride during my second degree, and I do regret that somewhat. At the time I wasn’t willing to incur additional debt. Probably the right call at the time given the unknown job market.
I do think that you need to make careful and well thought out decisions, and make sure to re-evaluate your priorities periodically. What are you priorities? Good grades are a given and school must be your number one focus, but consider where other college-related things fall on your list of priorities. Just as it is fine to prioritize riding both horses and work toward competitive goals, it is also perfectly fine to conclude that you want to join some non-horse clubs. Maybe giving up the lease on the jumper will allow you the best of both worlds - you can still ride, but not travelling to ride the jumper will allow you some time to participate in on-campus activities. Don’t let other people’s expectations influence your decisions, but allow yourself to re-evaluate at the end of every semestre.
If you do want to keep the jumper, scrutinize your schedule and course selection carefully. My horse was 45-60 mins away from campus. Fortunately, the barn was close to my home so while I didn’t live at home full-time, I could cut down on the commute by riding in the evening, sleeping at home, and then riding again in the morning before heading into school. I tried to arrange my schedule to make this possible a couple of times a week. Not always possible, but it is something to keep in mind.
I second those that say make sure you have time to enjoy the college experience. However, it’s not completely infeasible to do that, and still have the horses. I might recommend backing off the horses for your first semester/year though, particularly the hour-away one, so you can get your feet wet at college, build a social network, and figure out classes and other activities, etc.
I didn’t have my own horse freshman year, but did have a pretty high level jumper my sophomore through senior year, and he was boarded 45 minutes away, so riding him was usually took 3-hour chunk of time. I generally managed to get out there 4-5 days a week, and had someone at the barn that could exercise him the other days. I also rode on and was captain of the college’s IHSA team, which was at a separate closer barn, taught riding lessons 1-2 days a week my junior and senior year, did very well in academics, and managed to have a social life. So it’s not impossible. But you need to stick to a schedule, stay on top of your school work, and acknowledge that some days you won’t be able to fit in the big chunk of time necessary to get out to the barn, and that horses may have to take a backseat to other things sometimes.
