It’s really nice that you can stay at your home barn! That is something we are struggling with as my daughter chose a college across the country and wants to bring her horse after a semester or so. She toyed with a closer school just to stay with her current trainer.
Your daughter has a horse? give the horse headpats from me. /happily, winking playfully
also if you are bringing that horse over make sure to note that horses get tucked up (just stiff and sometimes sore) after a long time in the trailer (and make sure the horse wears shipping boots! God forbid that horse gets cast in the trailer and hurts themself.) /adding on
It’s definitely super nice, even though my home barn is far as is… (40 mins one way)- since I’ll be able to work on things I’m struggling with on the school team at the home barn, and occasionally show with my home barn as well. /thoughtfully
I wish I had my own horse, but we just don’t have the money right now. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do a lease. /softly, wistfully
also i’m currently at Novice Flat + Fences, but I should be moving up to Limit or Intermediate by the end of the summer. My trainer said I qualified for Mini Medal classes (2’6") so I should think that falls into Limit, right? /a tad confused on my level
From a strategic perspective, you may be better off not moving up. The teams need riders in all of the classes and you could be top of the class, rather than competing for the harder class.
My daughter has not ridden in college so it may be different, but she did IEA for part of middle and high school and it was an advantage to be still in the lower class but ready for the move up so you win. I’m sure the NEU coach will have thoughts.
I’m sure you will have fun, though!
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My barn trainer said the same thing, that I would be better in Novice and staying at Novice for the school team while moving up divisions in the A/AA circuit for my home barn shows- although i haven’t spoken to her in a hot minute so I’ll need to double check with her on that. /musing
thank you! i look forward to it! /happily
I believe there is only Novice flat. For Limit you need a little 3’ fences experience. Also you can be different classes for flat & over fences. All requirements are in the 8000 section of the IHSA rulebook.
I’m aware IHSA does level ranking partially based on show experience and the only reason I haven’t been able to show as often and as highly is due to external circumstances- I might be able to do Limit for fences and do limit for flat as well, I’ll just have to consult my trainer. It just irks me because I know for a fact I would be at Limit level right now had I been consistently riding. But I’ll ping my trainer and see if she thinks I can get up to Limit or not. I also plan to go to regionals for my zone (rated, although my trainer mentioned opportunity classes which I wasn’t interested in) this year so if I place in those classes I may also end up in limit. /thoughtful
Also I’ve seen some IHSA shows and AEL shows have Novice fences divisons, so I’m not sure. /adding on
Also one of the NUEQ team captains said this to me in an email-
That being said riders, in the novice division will get some experience jumping over the course of the semester so that they are not entirely unprepared once they point up into a jumping division.
/soooo I’m not sure perhaps I’ll be in limit??
EDIT: …looks like i may not be able to ride solely due to expenses (parents are paying for brother’s tuition as well) /sighing
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so…riding’s back on. spoke to both my folks and they said they’d make it work. -and I’ll pitch in my money, too. /happily
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Would be wonderful if your family can swing it, financially, but honestly, I think the real issue is going to be time. You’re a premed with a passion for research, but somewhat weak math skills. I have a feeling that you are going to be challenged to get good grades in your hard science and math classes, keep up with all your other classes, and fit in the research, shadowing, volunteering, clinical work time that a premed needs to do. I haven’t heard you talk about becoming anything else than a research physician for genetic diseases, so you really do want to give yourself every chance of succeeding. I have no idea how you will fit in riding, too. I know you are highly motivated, but prepare yourself. The level of work required for a premed at a highly competitive college is going to be a shock. If you can audit a calculus class, and maybe a general chem class this summer at a 4 yr college somewhere close to home, it might be a good idea. Or if your family can afford it, maybe take one of those this summer at NEU, to lighten your load this fall.
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There’s no doubt it’s hard. But half of my daughter’s team consists of engineering and CS majors. It can be done, with good time management skills.
PS. I am talking of IHSA (club) level, not NCEA here, as that’s what Northeastern has.
Yup! i’m fairly certain I should be able to manage it- especially considering we’re only required to ride 1-2x a week for the IHSA team depending on our level- but there are other commitments like weekly team meetings + workouts. /warmly
You are getting great advice from @parentologist. My daughter is a highly successful pre-med student at a selective LAC and the expectations are exponentially higher than high school. And this is doubly the case for students with lower natural analytical aptitude. Classes like calculus, O-Chem, p-chem, physics (2) and statistics are challenging to say the least. My daughter says as a pre-med student you have to be comfortable with a certain lifestyle which involves a lot more work than other disciplines. She does still find time to hang with friends but her schoolwork is her priority. If you don’t have the grades you don’t get to go to medical school. I would spend the 1st year of college solely focused on my grades. This is the same advice I gave my daughter.
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Back in the dark ages when I was in college, there were various work-study jobs which were known to be “reserved” for pre-meds. Not really reserved of course- but these were jobs where a student could get in 3 or 3.5 hours of studying done during a four hour shift while getting paid (the precursor to multi-tasking, I guess!)
Then there were the jobs the mere mortals had (I drove a van, checked backpacks for stolen books at the library checkout, making scrambled eggs in the dining hall) that required paying attention and focusing for the entire shift but most of us were happy to leave the studying jobs to the kids who really couldn’t afford to give up work for cash AND couldn’t afford to give up 10 or 12 hours a week of study time.
OP- just make sure you’ve got your eye on the long game! One of my premed suite-mates worked the lockout desk at the housing office on Saturday nights (shift was 6 pm-2am). 6-8 was a flurry of activity… at which point everyone left for a party, and she had the office to herself. Quiet, no ringing phone-- uninterrupted study time. And students who got locked out on Saturday night usually slept in a friends room rather than bothering to walk over to the housing office…
Once you’ve got midterms under your belt you’ll have a better idea of how much non-academic stuff you can handle!!!
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Gooood morning. I slept on my thoughts before sharing them so here they are: I appreciate the advice! I think I’ll tryout for NUEQ and see if I make the team. I also do plan to practice calc and college-level bio over the summer (with a tutor or khan academy or both) so I can go in with a strong foundation. /warmly, bit sleepy
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posting something a bit sad but also for awareness in a way so trigger warning for freak riding accident-
Hannah was 15. She was riding a Hanoverian gelding in a show at WEC Florida when her horse had landed and then tripped, suffering a rotational fall that threw her off- and the horse had fallen on her head. (spoilering because it’s not graphic but it’s sad). Just yesterday.
…it reminds me not only how precious life is, but how we risk our lives every time in the saddle, and how we must treasure the time we do have with our loved ones and equines. I will be riding for Hannah, and all of those that have lost their lives to freak riding accidents, moving forward. May her beautiful soul rest in peace. /softly, saddened
Link if you wanna read: (not gory or graphic just a summary): Hannah Serfass: Teen killed during equestrian competition in Florida
On a brighter note- I am officially meeting the NUEQ team captain this Saturday! So I’m looking forward to that. /excited
Unless you alrrady had a great AP chem course, and got a 4 or 5 on ap chem exam, it is probably better to stsrt with gen chem and lab, rather than Bio. You need some college chem for bio, but you dont need bio for chem. Also, if you cannot do well in gen chem , it is better to find that out early on.
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I believe riding is the most dangerous sport there is, given the high TBI and fatality rates. (I am a horseperson, and board horses on my farm).
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I’ll cover gen chem, bio, and calc over the summer (not college classes but through khan academy + tutoring)- it was already my plan to do that. /warmly
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The #1 reason for going to college is academics and that should take priority. However, sports, activities, networking, friendships, etc are a huge part of the college experience and should not be discounted. If a student can manage their academic goals with various other activities, more power to them.
Unless a student feels like they need some remedial help, I am not also not a fan of self-study/tutoring during the summer. Explore something else, do whatever you are passionate about, broaden your horizons. This could include things that would help your academic or eventual career or it could just be something you like to do.
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In OPs case, they were in pre-calc in 12th grade and struggled.
And now heading to Northeastern and pre-med.
So OP will be taking on a difficult task so while I don’t disagree, I can understand the OPs desire to strengthen their background.
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I am getting tutored in precalc and I definitely seem to be doing better, so I’m happy about that. Although I will also be getting tutored over the summer so I can get a solid foundation for calc/chem/maybe some bio too so I can enter college without being totally freaked out and overwhelmed. /happily, thoughtful
I do want to make time for friends, and the equestrian team- hopefully one or two other ECs I can devote my time to outside of studying, although from what it sounds like, studying is all I would be doing. Not that I’m necessarily opposed to it, but still. /thoughtful
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