Hi! I went to boarding school and my daughter is interested in attending too. However, her main sport is riding (equestrian) and we will only consider schools with an equestrian program. We will also only consider co-ed. So far, we have come across Thacher, Kent, Loomis and Taft. Can anyone recommend any other schools that may have a program and a great academic reputation? She is coming from a competitive all girls independent school.
Thanks!
George School has an equestrian program and team. Barn is on campus. IB curriculum (strong academics.) Very supportive community.
Some of the girls schools have good programs but it looks like that’s a no-go.
Paging @Calliemomofgirls who is also looking at BS with riding programs.
If she has her own horse, Millbrook would work as there’s a top notch barn next door (Kildare Stables). I know a top junior eventer rides there. However the school itself does not have an equestrian program.
@KateKara24 If you haven’t already, check boradingschoolreview website and click “equestrian” for sport. That was really helpful for us.
Some schools not in the northeast: culver, ashevillle, fountain valley.
I know there were a number of schools that I remember we removed because they didn’t have her main sport volleyball, but you could find these schools by doing the search I just mentioned.
FWIW — I’m not sure what the equestrian situation is at Taft so just be aware of that. We removed Taft for other reasons but I seem to recall that it was not quite what we wanted.
If she is open to considering girls schools then that would really present more options as you mentioned.
Finally I’ll say that my daughter is NOT an accomplished equestrian. She just wants to explore that next year at BS so know that I know almost nothing really of the competitive riding world.
^^ I will echo that you really need to figure out at what level she wants to compete (as well as discipline. ) Most of the really serious riders end up at day schools that will tolerate their absences and who will allow them to work with tutors in Florida while they are on the circuit there. Most BS are incompatible with that kind of program but I am guessing you already know that.
Adding on to @gardenstategal comment – If I am reading between the lines correctly with some of the girls schools literature and comments, they might support that kind of option for a more competitive rider. Foxcroft had a special program for students super committed to a sport or activity (I understood it to be mostly riders in practice). Ethel Walker might have had something in that space IIRC. Madeira I know has a lot of competitive riders, but don’t know about special provisions for leaving school for competitions.
Thanks for your comments and helpful info! My daughter has been riding for about 8 years, competes locally in hunter seat and is moving up from a large pony to a horse. She has also recently acquired a taste for jumpers as well.
If we stay at our current day school, she will continue to train at the same barn and not participate in sports at school. We, however, are not planning on spending a fortune on the AA circuit and spending winters in FL. There is a middle ground.
We looked at Taft and she didn’t love it so far, so we will probably remove it from the list. Right now, her favorite is Loomis. We are looking for a school that has an affiliation with a barn where she can ride individually as well as for the school-so if the barn is not on campus it’s not a deal breaker.
She does currently have her own horse, so I will look into Millbrook (and George!)…thanks!
I was also thinking of looking at lawrenceville since there are several barns near Princeton.
I am sure you will have good options! If you have any questions please feel free to PM me. I board retired horses near Millbrook and have a very high opinion of Kildare. Many horse professionals are, um, sleazy, and that is the opposite of Kildare.
To be clear, other schools/programs/barns can be great too!
^^Likewise, if you have questions about NJ barns.
I can add a bit here since we looked seriously at all of the schools on your list. Our DD is a serious, competitive hunter / jumper and was only interested in schools with a competitive program. That is, a school which would celebrate her passion, not simply tolerate it. That frankly narrowed the list very quickly.
To start, Taft made it clear to us during interviews that they would tolerate her riding off campus for lessons (they don’t have a program on site - affiliate with a nearby barn) but would not likely allow DD to miss school days for showing. When asked if other sports travelled for competitions, we were politely shown the door (kidding - kind of). Loomis’s affiliate barn is 30 mins. away by bus, and the the bus doesn’t run in inclement weather. This was a deal killer for us since DD didn’t want to spend that much time traveling. The barn itself was quite run down, and the riders had limited opportunity to show. Thacher’s program is western-based, and while they do have an IEA team, participation is sporadic given the small size of the school. Kent has a well established program for riders of all abilities, is integrated and on-site, and is headed by a 3 time Olympic rider (and perhaps the nicest human being on Earth). Co-ed (both the school and the 30-strong equestrian team) with strong academics and a commitment to balance. I am admittedly biased as our DD chose Kent and could not be happier. She is currently a sophomore. Please PM me if you have specific questions about the Kent program, or our notes from the other programs we visited. Happy to help!
I’ll second what others said about Taft…it was the only school that our daughter looked at that offered riding and she was so excited to be able to ride. But when she asked about it during her interview, it was clear that they don’t actually have a riding program.
We were in the same situation as you 3 years ago. Happy to share about the search and result- ended up at Loomis and could not be happier. Owns a horse. Able to compete in IEA and independently, with some restrictions based around school schedule. Like you said, there’s a middle ground.
To the OP - an important question for you and for any school regards expectations for competing, as well as the school’s policy for allowing your student the time away for competitions. We knew one girl on the circuit who would leave Ethel Walker for part of the winter in order to compete. If you student will be competing in FL for most of the winter you can check out St Andrew’s School (Boca Raton), as they have a boarding program and stables are within reasonable driving distance. Also, when looking at schools checkout the stable facility. The ones (I saw a few years ago) at Ethel Walker are nice. Here are a few schools to check out:
Ethel Walker (CT)
Stoneleigh Burnam School (MA)
Foxcroft School (VA)
Oldfields School (MD)
Chatham Hall (VA)
Loomis alum/parents seem to be generally quite pleased with their choice. I’ve had relatives who graduated with great results, albeit this was some years ago. Since you are a current parent, are there any areas that you would like to see improvements in? Thank you.