General Info:

• Freshmen are very diverse in experience levels and riding abilities. 
• The first semester focuses on proper body position of both horse and rider, lunging, horsemanship and showmanship. 
• The curriculum is designed to accommodate students that are new to the industry as well as those who have had several years of experience.
• Instructors continually evaluate students' abilities and assign them to comparable horses.
• Second semester focuses on trail, line driving and preparation for flying lead changes. This helps prepare the students for the sophomore year of colt breaking.
• Various training techniques are taught.
• Instructors are Cindy Morehead, Clark Bradley, Mark Smith, Jake Bowman and Lori Gingrich.

Class:

• Meets from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• Class is divided into three groups. Each has a riding, feeding, and cleaning/showmanship hour. These groups rotate every two weeks.
• Each hour is subdivided into three groups (approximately nine students per group), each with its own instructor.
• Groups will rotate so that students are able to work with each instructor and experience different training and riding techniques.
• Horses are assigned based on student's ability and are constantly rotated. This gives students a chance to work with different horses.
• Demonstrations are done throughout the semester and include tack, riding/training techniques, saddling, grooming, feeding, stall cleaning, etc.
• Riding tests are approximately two weeks after a demonstration. This allows the students time to practice.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain the care, training and development of the assigned horse.
• Afternoon feeding - assignments rotate every two weeks.
• Stall cleaning Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
• Work weekends - two each semester; paid; graded; students can pick the days they want to work; feeding, stall cleaning, various barn chores.

Semester Grades - compiled of class grades and barn grades:

• Class grades are taken from attendance, riding tests, evaluations and riding finals.
• Barn grades include stall cleaning, feeding, work weekends, taking horses' temperatures (required daily-can help detect illness), trailer loading, leg wrapping and body scoring.

Finals:

• Held one week before campus finals; an outside judge is hired.
• Conducted similar to a horseshow.
• Required to show in two classes first semester and three the second.
• Classes include showmanship, horsemanship, western pleasure, hunter under saddle and hunt seat equitation. Trail and colt pleasure are added second semester.
• To show in an English class, students must have ridden English during designated times throughout the semester.  
• Although the classes are judged and awards are given, the instructors grade each student individually and placing does not influence the grade.