tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391335904890951481.post5166425037316134471..comments2023-05-16T09:44:08.624-04:00Comments on The Collegial Equestrian: Balancing riding and schoolCarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01428539179552096078noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391335904890951481.post-67336479066304405482012-02-29T16:05:10.547-05:002012-02-29T16:05:10.547-05:00My IHSA experience was very different. Unless you...My IHSA experience was very different. Unless you were on the Executive Board, the time commitment was only for your lesson (which was a one-hour lesson plus tacking, untacking, cooling out) once a week, which had you at the barn for usually no more than three hours tops. Many schools in my Region co-hosted shows, so the time commitment for show prep was minimal, and the commitment on part of the members was almost entirely on the day of the show (which they would be at anyway to compete).<br />There were opportunities for the team to host schooling shows on the local Hunter circuit, and those were the only times members actually had to prep their own horses (usually borrowed from the trainer's lesson barn).<br />So I guess the thing to take away is that different programs require varying degrees of involvement at the barn.<br />Out of curiosity (to the other IHSAers), were your barns run by your school or were your programs run out of a private trainer? My school had the authority to choose a barn for us to take lessons at (and therefore which trainer would be responsible for us in IHSA), and our dues went expressly towards lessons. The school provided the team with a budget to put on shows, covered show fees and transportation, and would get us new tack every once in a while (we asked for used, but somehow they thought new stuff was better [our butts didn't appreciate rock-hard un-broken-in saddles]).<br />I'd never thought about how much time people at other schools had to commit to their teams!DraftHorseFeatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10992116330319969367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391335904890951481.post-60911925282445381462012-02-29T12:28:01.504-05:002012-02-29T12:28:01.504-05:00I choose to be a commuter student to a near by col...I choose to be a commuter student to a near by college so that I could keep my riding schedule with my horse. My mom always told me I had to ride at least 3x a week to even think about going to a show, so I made it work between school and working. I also took riding for physical education credits through the college, which meant I rode twice a week. I did not "look" enough like a hunter rider to make the riding team, so I can not comment on IHSA. Education came first, but responsibility to my horse was a very close second.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13675631291488697042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391335904890951481.post-88368051815658501862012-02-28T20:32:42.176-05:002012-02-28T20:32:42.176-05:00Former IHSA'er here too. I had one hour of pr...Former IHSA'er here too. I had one hour of practice per team per week (so if you were on Jump, Western and Hunt flat that's three), plus tacking up time and chores after each practice (sweeping, feeding, etc), plus four hours of show prep the night before every home show, plus working the entire home show from 6:30am-5pm or so, sometimes two days in a weekend, plus traveling to away shows and being there the whole time. So...it's a big time commitment, but if you were an equine major like I was and lived at the barn anyway, you didn't even notice it. I could see where a non-major would feel a little overwhelmed between non-barn commitments and IHSA, though.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04292565760924146966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391335904890951481.post-87454964354636329522012-02-28T18:21:56.852-05:002012-02-28T18:21:56.852-05:00About how many hours a week would you say?About how many hours a week would you say?Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01428539179552096078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391335904890951481.post-74672252426819454512012-02-28T18:15:46.632-05:002012-02-28T18:15:46.632-05:00IHSA absolutely has time commitments if you're...IHSA absolutely has time commitments if you're on a competitive team. Between practices, volunteer hours, and showing, there is a LOT of time that goes into it. It is an awesome way to test your ability to get on a new horse and figure it out as you go. I love IHSA and I would highly encourage college equestrians to participate in it.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06237082785829925271noreply@blogger.com