I think any young rider who wants to become a professional in our sport knows how hard it is to choose between furthering their education and continuing their study. Our sport is so time-consuming, it requires so much work and dedication, that usually it is prioritized over university study. This decision is hard, for any rider, as there is so much more to learn post school. The array on offer for equine courses in the world is so large, it holds so many opportunities. It also holds hours of classroom study and very little riding time. For me, this has been something pondering on my mind for a while. I will admit, while I’m not the biggest fan of school, the idea of unfulfilled potential and content not learnt that would better my riding is this big boogie man hiding in the closet. I could go to anyone of these schools and come out the other end with knowledge that would help reach the top which I 100% want to do. But, I would also be insanely behind in my riding and not where I want to be. Do I go with reaching my riding dreams, but not fulfilling my full potential as there is more to be learnt?
This decision thankfully got to be put on hold when my research started. I had heard whispers of Hartpury for a while, a blog post here, a mutual friend there, some posts from Charlotte Dujardin (oh and her being an alumnus of the school). After my research into the school I made a decision that the college was possibly the answer to all of my dreams, balancing school and riding in one? What! Not only was it an opportunity to balance the two, it was an opportunity to integrate and use my riding within the course.
Some of the features that caught my eye straight away were the courses on offer. Currently there is 23 courses up to be studied, and all are varied. There is Equine Sports Science, Equine Business Management, Equine Sports coaching and a whole other range. The calibre of education is also second to none. Not to name drop or anything, but the coaches and lecturers include Corrine Bracken, Lizzel Winter, Nick Burton and Carl Hester.
This school, with its 70mx40m indoor seating upwards of 550 people, 3 indoor arenas, outdoor arenas, XC up to FEI 3*, a rider gym, horse treadmill, horse water walker (which occasionally catches a visit from Blueberry), horse walkers, stables, manicured pasture, beautiful livery and stables, classrooms right near the horses, a library a short walk from the stables, its lively and helpful energy and people, was like my fairytale in one. It was deceiving, the small windy road that led into the school. But even my non-horsey cousin was saying wow OMG (I think at the grounds and not the rugby and soccer players….) before we had even entered the gates.
During the tour, you could already tell that every equine person was as in awe at the modern technology as me. As we sat on the physio beds in the physio room, listening to our guide/lecturer, I could just envision school life here.
Photo Credit Hartpury College
I didn’t think it would get any better until we entered the room next to the gym. 2 stimulator horses lay in wait just through the doors. They were there to be ridden and on the screen would be a cross country ring or dressage, of which the horse would then be able to sense the important areas of improvement for the rider. Say you sat too far to the left, too far to the back, it would feed that information to the computer. For me, with my trusty Fonzy who-is-so-hard-to-see-a-distance-on-with-his-4-beat-canter, the fact that a line would appear as too where you would take off was beyond valuable. This was also a Fairytale/life saver. Oh and did I mention one of their stimulator horses is extremely rare and at the time and possibly still is the only one in England?
Everybody was beyond helpful and the lecturers were so passionate, I felt the dream of attending become a full-fledged plan.
The older of the horses, photo Horse & Hound
Another aspect of Hartpury that makes it so unique, is its equine Academy. Riders apply before the start of their academic year and if chosen can be placed on the elite squad, elite development or the development. It’s no small feat getting into the squad, you need some pretty grand competition results, then ride in front of the selectors, and for eventing be competing at CCI/CIC**. If you get in however, your instructors include the names I mentioned earlier, Nick Burton, Corrine Bracken and Carl Hester. A normal day for an elite squad member would include getting up to feed their horse and muck out stables, give them a walk on the walker, classes with a lesson from a coach in the breaks between classes (they work with your schedule), walker again, extra classes for conditioning, sports psychology, nutrition, or a gym workout, finished with a stable check late at night. Not only can you balance your school horse life, you have access to world-class facilities, coaches and education.
I plan to work pretty hard to get the opportunity to go to Hartpury. It wont be easy, nor will packing up and flying across the world, but talk about a place to fulfil your potential. To gain life skills, contacts and friends. Oh, and compete in the European events (including Hartpury’s very own events).
I’ll leave you with a fact that left us pretty speechless. If Hartpury was its very own country at this years olympics, and it included past and present students, in the medal tally it would have come 5th. I’ll just leave that there.
Until next time x
Eliza Harvey Equestrian 