College and riding: a true balancing act

As equestrians in college, our biggest struggle is balancing our riding life with our school and social life.

It is often a joke among the equestrian community that as riders, we have no social life. Have no fear, I am here to tell you guys how I (sometimes) manage to balance my life out among these three categories!!

My first piece of advice is the following: you have to love riding and you have to want to ride for you, otherwise there will be no will or motivation to create a balance between your riding and your life outside of it. With that being said, you also have to make sure you are having some fun in between all of the work you are doing! In my personal experience, sometimes you have to take a day off of working your horse just to go out and remember the main reason you started riding: your unfailing love for horses and the sport.

Balancing your class life with your riding life is something that varies from person to person, especially once you get to college. It can take time to figure out what works best for you in maintaining good grades and competing.

​I have to constantly remind myself that as much as I love riding, school is more important for the time being because without this education, I will have no way of supporting my riding, showing and other equestrian antics in the future. At the beginning of each semester I like to sit 

down with a planner and my laptop and plan out all my classes and schedule days and times I will ride. I mark on my calendar the times I will be in class, what times I can ride on those days, and I also include dates and times of any assignment due dates or tests. Doing this can really help you plan ahead so you are not trying to plan everything at the last minute. That only adds stress and won’t allow you to perform at your best - whether in class or in the saddle. Take the time to create your schedule, be it monthly or by the semester, that is conducive to your own class schedule and riding/show season.

Throughout the semester I can easily just pull out my planner and flip to the month to see what I should plan on doing that week. Some of the things I like to do to both balance and combine riding and school is reading while I let my horse graze or even relaxing in a hammock outside of Buds stall at shows while I go over my notes and textbooks. I also find it useful to carry assignments around with me in the golf cart at shows, that way when we are in between classes just hanging around the show grounds I can whip out some school work and make the time waiting worth something.

A normal week for me can be quite busy. My days goes something like this: school, head to the barn where I ride two to five horses a day, head home to eat and get cleaned up, then I devote time in the evening to do my school work. 

As hectic as it may be, I wouldn’t have it any other way. In order to make it all work, you really have to want it. Doing something half way, whether it is school, work or riding, won’t allow you to accomplish your goals. Put yourself into what you’re doing 100 percent and your hard work will pay off.

What are some ways you balance college with riding and showing?

Happy riding,