College Application Tips for Equestrians

to her county 4H show several times.
Apply Your Skills
Volunteering or working at the barn also provides valuable experiences that you can list in the activities section. For these Randi says a great college application tip for equestrians is to take a skillsbased approach.
A lot of times a kid that hasnt had a ton of show experience may be a working student at the barn or theyre the weekend barn help so they may have more experience than can be categorized on a traditional resume she says.
To break that experience down Randi suggests looking at the skills and responsibilities required for each one.
If youre the Saturday barn help what responsibilities do you have? she says. Or does the barn do a summer camp program where you volunteer? Theres a different skill set involved in working at the summer camp program than being the weekend barn help.
In addition to the duties you performed think about what you learned on the job such as equine nutrition or scheduling and organization skills.
Aubrey Earley rides on the eventing team at Transylvania University. She credits Pony Club with molding her into the person and rider she is today. Photo courtesy Transylvania University Eventing Team
Aubrey Earley 19 is a sophomore majoring in sociology at Transylvania University in Lexington Ky. where she rides on the eventing team. On her college application Aubrey wrote about helping at her local barn and teaching lessons in addition to earning her C3 riding and HB horse management certifications through the United States Pony Clubs.
The horse world doesnt just make you a better rider but it also gives you experiences and opportunities that create leadership patience and independence she says.
Your Essay
There are many benefits to being an equestrian and the essay provides the opportunity to talk about them. Randi says that the key to a good essay is to focus beyond the sport itself and apply it to how you have developed as a person overcome challenges or had an experience that changed your perspective.
Its being able to look inside yourself and investigate what that experience was like and what you went through says Randi. Did you have fear of showing in front of a judge?
Were you afraid to do that and how did you work through it? Or were you overwhelmed by a horse and had to change your approach? Those are the life skills that transfer to a career and to