A Day in The Life: SCAD Equestrian Students

Editor’s note: This post is the first in a series from SCAD Equestrian students who share insight into their team and their program. Follow the contributions here.

Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of a member of the SCAD Equestrian team is like? Join the SCAD Equestrian team as they win their sixth consecutive Zone Finals Championship.

*Yesterday was occupied by show set up, horse schooling, and more show set up.

*You are not riding today. Riders don’t always have a horse to take care of, especially if they go in multiple classes.

5 a.m.
Wake up. Hit snooze.

5:15 a.m.
Actually wake up.

5:30 a.m.
Get dressed, pack your bag with horse show essentials like: clothing for every weather scenario possible, bug spray, sunscreen, water, your nifty SCAD Equestrian polo/hat/jacket, phone, keys, sunglasses…probably more bug spray.

5:45 a.m.
Meet your lovely, generous teammates outside your dorm and catch a ride to the barn in the humid, inky softness that is the swamp before dawn.

6:00 a.m.
Gather in the bronze room for a mission brief. Review horse assignments, schooling schedules, and class order. There’s a long day ahead but everyone is ready to work and excited to support the team. Go bees!

6:20 a.m.
Go greet your care horse. His name is John. He is large, and bay, and very sweet. He sniffs you for treats when you enter his stall. Upon finding you have none he settles for rubbing his face all over your jacket. You groom him thoroughly; the SCAD horses always impress, but they need to look extra stunning today. This is the last step before Nationals and there are teams coming from as far as Texas to compete.

7 a.m.
The sun rises. It’s always soothing to watch the sky pale, morphing slowly from night to day over the live oaks and the sharp line of the covered arena. Sort of. It’s cloudy and drizzling, but at least now you can see the puddles lining the stable yard and avoid stumbling into them.

7:30 a.m.
The first schooling group treks out to the covered arena. These are the horses being ridden in the very first classes. SCAD riders warm them up in front of all the visiting schools so riders see the horses in their class. There’s music being played over the speaker system, which almost distracts you from the bugs rising in clouds from the traitorous swamp water. Almost.

8 a.m.
Complimentary breakfast – thank you SCAD – eaten quickly because the schooling groups are still rotating and you don’t want to be late getting John ready.

8:30 a.m.
Schooling ends and the Coaches meeting starts in the jump shed. Walk back to the barn and check on John. He’s still clean, and he’s still disappointed in your apparent inability to have peppermints on your person at all times. He settles for pushing his face (which weighs a third of what you do) into your chest so you’ll brush his forehead just the way he likes. It’s quiet in the barn as riders fall into the pre-show rituals and hone their focus. You whisper a pep-talk into John’s ear.

9 a.m.
The show starts! The bugs get worse, but it’s not raining yet (you think you’d prefer the rain.) People walk around with dryer sheets tied in their hair or on their wrists because that’s supposed to keep the gnats away. You’re not sure of the science behind this, but there’s no bonding experience quite like tearing a dryer sheet in half to give to a stranger in their hour of need.

9:30 a.m.
Make yourself useful. Hold horses, clean your teammates’ boots before they go into the ring, watch the higher level riders closely so you know what you need to look like. Huddle around the in-gate with your team when one of your riders goes in. Erupt in cheers with everyone else when the rider comes out. Smile at them, congratulate them, give them a thumbs-up regardless of their placing because it’s never easy to perform in front of a crowd on a 1200 pound animal with a mind of it’s own. The SCAD riders always give their best.

10 a.m.
Celebrate Ryan Genn and Devon Walther earning Champion and Reserve Champion respectfully. These were difficult classes to win, the riders competing today are the best from each region in Zone 5.

10:30 a.m.
Adjust the jump heights for the next class, hold some more horses, check the water buckets, help collect spurs from the riders who borrowed them.

11 a.m.
Get lunch for the judges. Celebrate more teammates winning their classes. Yay, Bees!

Noon
It’s sunny now, and cloudless. A day that started out stormy has become pretty much perfect for a horse show.

12:30 p.m.
Clear the ring of jumps, drag the ring to break up the footing.

1 p.m.
Go back to the barn, groom John for the third time, carefully wrap his show polos so the SCAD logo sits on the front of his leg, check to make sure the name tags on his saddle pad are secure. Run to the bathroom.

1:30 p.m.
Bring John out to the ring for schooling. It’s cloudy again and the wind has picked up. The tent SCAD brought in to provide cover from the rain makes flapping noises and John watches it intently. You pat his shoulder.

2:30 p.m.
John’s first class. You hold him while a rider from a different school gets on him, pet him while the coach fiddles with the stirrups and gives last minute reminders to their rider. Then you stand by the gate again, surrounded by your team.

3 p.m.
Find a teammate to hold John while you eat lunch. The sun comes out and the mood brightens in turn.

3:30 p.m.
John’s bored of waiting. You walk him, stand with him when he decides he’d rather stop and stare into the distance, and stroke his nose when he finally settles and dozes with his head on your lap.

4 p.m.
Normally this is where you’d study for an exam. Horse shows often fall before midterms or finals, so as a student-artist-athlete you are the master of time management. There’s no equine anatomy or equine facility design or principles and theories of training to study today, so you review the readings for your 20th Century Art History class and try to make sense of Cubism.

4:50 p.m.
The last class of the day goes into the ring. You lead John in and stand at the gate with your team a final time. You always stay attentive through the last class. Often, it’s the lower level riders that make or break the standings. Just because someone is in the Walk-Trot division and has only been riding for a year doesn’t mean the team needs them any less.

5:45pm

This happens.

5:30 p.m.
The final results come in. SCAD is high point team, we’re Nationals bound! There’s cheering and laughing and hugging. Your teammates gather their ribbons, other schools congratulate you as they leave, your coach is grinning. Take John back to the barn, feed him peppermints and scratch his forehead just the way he likes.

6 p.m.
Back to the barn again. Clean John’s tack, switch the bit, throw the saddle pad, girth, and polos in the laundry. Wash the sand from John’s belly, treat his legs with liniment, put hoof polish on his feet because the sand from the ring dries them out, groom him again, wipe him down with a towel, put him back in his stall and thank him for his good behavior while he buries his nose in his hay.

6:30 p.m.
Do a final check through the barn. Make sure everything is put away and all the horses are cared for, because the horses are the most important members of our team. They know this. They get lots of pats and treats.

6:45 p.m.
Crawl back into the car with your lovely, generous teammates and go home. Your muscles ache and your feet throb and you’re definitely sunburned and riddled with gnat bites. You’re happy though, happy and proud and floating on a wave of excitement. You worked all year for this. Your team won zones. Your team is going to Nationals!

7 p.m.
Shower, eat, dig into your bones for the energy to do homework tonight. Know that it’s worth it. Know that it’s an honor to spend all day with the most hardworking, dedicated, talented people you know. You’re tired, sure, but this is what being part of a team is; it’s working, and trying, and achieving things you could never do on your own. Know that the hardest part is still ahead. That’s daunting, but your team is ready, they can do it. Nationals, here we come.

Video by Giana Terranova Photography.