Horse College.............???

Question

I'm going into 12th grade and it's getting to that time when I need to decide what to do with my life after school. I LOVE horses and have such a passion that I need to pursue. I am very interested in Dressage and I would love to go to a school of Dressage. But I just can't find any school's.

Do you know of any Dressage riding school's anywhere on the east coast? Any other suggestions I'm open to as well.

Thanks so much!

By the way...I do not own a horse.

Answer 1

I dont know a specific dressage school, but im in the same position as you. It's kind of far away but in Riverton Wyoming there is a great equine study program. For training in western or english, vet, barn owner, etc...any thing you can think of for horses, also they do internships after college so you get job experience. Its far away from the east coast but some bonuses is that its only like $10,000 a year, for everything including horse boarding,room and board, and meal plans. Idk if $ is an issue, but this sure helps. It has reveive national recognition for best equine study and such. I am applying here this year and i hope to get in. Heres the website

www.cwc.edu

or

http://www.cwc.edu/Academics/Programs-of...

Keep in mind that Wyoming is the leader in the horse industry, so your bound to find a good job!

Good luck in your search and please please let me know if you find a dressage school ANYWHERES in the U.S

[e-mail] is where you can contact me!

Thanks

Answer 2

Here is a list of schools that I am currently interested in (mostly Findlay, although that one is in Ohio.)

    *  Averett U

    * Colorado SU

    * Johnson & Wales Prov

    * Lake Erie C

    * North Dakota SU

    * Otterbein C

    * Post U

    * Rocky Mountain C

    * Sul Ross SU

    * Truman SU

    * U Findlay

    * U New Hampshire

    * U Wis River Falls

    * Virginia Intermont C

    * West Texas A&M U

    * William Woods U

Most of these schools offer dressage.  I do not remember which ones exactly as I am mostly interested in the jumper program, but you could check their websites.  

I do not know of any "dressage schools", although I am sure they exist somewhere on the east coast.  The schools I listed are all colleges that offer degrees in equine sciences and have riding programs.  

What exactly do you want to do?  Be a pro rider or a trainer or a vet or just a working person who rides as their hobby?  Deciding exactly what you want to do will help you choose your college.

Best of luck!

EDIT::::  http://www.averett.edu/academics/equestr...

This is a PDF that tells you a bit about Averett's dressage program...I am looking up the rest

Johnson and Wales - http://www.jwu.edu/business/deg_eqride.h...

Post - http://www.post.edu/equinemanagement.sht...

University of New Hampshire - http://www.undergradcat.unh.edu/programs...

Virginia Intermont - http://www.vic.edu/    Their site is weird and won't let me give you a link other than the home but here is what is says about the dressage program      

320-DRESSAGE. This course is designed to introduce the rider and horse to the basic principles of dressage. The repetition of transitions and training figures at working gaits in regards to the AHSA Training Level Tests will be applied. The main emphasis is the realization that every horse, regardless of its ultimate use, can benefit from dressage training. Two mounted hours a week. Credit, one semester hour. Offered as needed.

321-DRESSAGE PRACTICUM. Prerequisite: Equine Studies 202. Students in this class should be somewhat familiar with dressage competition at the training level. The course places emphasis on the proper execution of dressage test through the first level. Details covering the techniques of showing and judging the dressage horse will be covered. Two hours a week. Credit, one semester hour. Offered as needed.

All of the links are on the east coast (I think..I am terrible at geography!)

Best of luck!

Answer 3

I was in the same boat as yourself years ago, and though I cannot really give you any names of colleges for your information I will give you some tidbits that I wish I would have known back then.

1.) Talk to students. (Obviously) Ask them questions in an informal setting, find out how things really are. Supervisors and instructors glorify everything about the college just to snag your money--don't let their sugar-coated stories lure you in.

2.) Pay close attention to the facilities. By that I mean the buildings themselves--the barn may be big, but is it new? How do the stalls look? Shabby setup might mean that all those dollars you are spending aren't going to the equine programs, as they should. I had an experience with this while touring a college. We were so entranced by the lovely tales our tour guide was telling us that we would not have noticed the cracks in the ceiling and walls until plaster actually fell on a few people.

3.) Make sure you find out exactly how much time you will be spending riding and doing hands-on work. Going to school for anything equine is similar to going to med school in that you can only read books so much. You need to be out in the barn staring at horses with thrush and rain rot, not staring at black and white photos in $150 textbooks. I made this mistake when I chose my college, and I ended up with two whole hours in the barn each week. I had to wiggle my way into the work study program in order to add a few hours a day up there.

4.) Find out exactly how much equipment you are required to purchase for equine classes. One college I visited handed me a two-page list of supplies I would need to purchase just to ride. The list totaled about a grand, and most of the things were not only unreasonable but were items I really wouldn't be using. You want to find a place that will cater to you at least a little. After all, you are the one paying to keep them up and running.

5.) Check out the horses. Since you do not own your own, learn about the animals. How many do they have that meet your riding ability? Are there horses for you to ride as you advance? How often do you change horses for lessons? For that matter, how often do you ride? If you are going to school to learn how to ride or to teach riding, you'll never grow unless you're learning yourself.

6.) Check out the instructors. Make sure they're stable. In two years of college I went through three and a half intructors ( the half is one that was supposed to show up and teach and never did.), and there is nothing stable about that. All instructors have different styles, as you know, and changing teachers can wreak havoc on your learning and your own style.

7.) Workstudy! I am a huge advocate of these programs because they can be the greatest source of hands-on knowledge in school. This is your chance to gain more experience with the care aspect of the animals. You may be used to the demeanors and health issues at your local barn, but new horses lead to new issues. This is where you learn to pack hooves and care for rain rot and how to deal with a ton of other issues your textbook won't tell you. Attitudes, 'phobias,' conformation issues, you name it. The added bonus to this is that in most if not all cases your hours of work mean a few dollars off tuition. (Anything helps, right?)

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I hope that it helps in you make a wise decision.

Answer 4

um.. i ride at an all womans college in massachussets..

calles smith college.

its very nice we have an awesome riding team, but we are a hunter jumper barn. maybe you could bring dressage to us?!!!??!?

http://www.smith.edu/athletics/sports/eq...

are basically enemy is mount holyoke. but they have a nice riding team also.

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/athletics/varsi...

theres also casanovia in new york.. im only in 9th grade but thats where i wana go!

http://www.cazenovia.edu/Default.aspx?ta...

good luck!

Answer 5

Get this book:

http://buybox.amazon.com/Horse-Schools-I...

It will give you a lot of info about the colleges and what disiplines they offer.

I am hopefully going to college as a hunter/jumper and I think the basics are the same.

- You need to still have your amature status

- Most won't allow you to bring your own horse

I am guessing you know how the shows are run and all of that stuff.

Its a little late to start trying to join a team though. Colleges start scouting as young as Freshmen year. They don't contact people (can't untill their juniors) but they keep an eye on who might be good additions to teams.

Good Luck though!

Answer 6

I'd recommend either William Woods or Findlay

Answer 7

If you don't mind going out of state then say so and if you do then what state do you live in/want to live in?