The Horse Program at Thacher....and photos

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>It would be interesting to explore some of the unique aspects of different boarding schools noted in the other thread. Here's a start:</p>

<p>The horse program at Thacher is one of the school's defining and differentiating characteristics. All freshmen are assigned a horse (many kids have never ridden before). For a whole year, that horse is theirs: the feeding, the brushing, the stall mucking etc. It's a huge responsibility and the kids learn so much about themselves, not the least of which is that they're not the center of the universe. Of course, the 10% of the time spent on grunt work is offset by the dozens of hours learning to ride from award-winning instructors, trail riding with new friends, horse camping on extra day trips, competing in Gymkhana and establishing bonds of camaraderie and friendship that last a lifetime. About half the school keeps riding at least one semester a year for the next three years. As an East Coaster, the experience is incomparable.</p>

<p>Here are four random horse program photos pulled off the School's FB page....gives you a bit of the flavor.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152150717425346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152150717425346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151244261305346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151244261305346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151695966365346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151695966365346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151457601605346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151457601605346&set=a.332515840345.335936.20059305345&type=1&theater&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

2

<p>Our son is a new 9th grader at Thacher, and we just returned from Parents Weekend. One of the highlights of the weekend was a two-hour riding demonstration featuring the freshmen. It was amazing - I kept asking others around me: “Is THIS a group of experienced riders?” The answer was always “No,” which was hard to believe based on the skill of all the riders!</p>

<p>At Thacher, the freshman are split up into riding groups of 8 to 12 students, usually co-ed, but a few single-sex groups. All the riding groups are comprised of students with varying degrees of experience, ranging from students who have never been on a horse, to award-winning English riders. I don’t know what magic formula the riding faculty uses to form the groups, but it’s absolutely amazing to see the progress after only 7 weeks of riding! The real culmination of the freshmen’s year of riding will come in May at the Big Gymkhana event, which includes demonstrations of skill and competition between teams in a variety of events. Based on what I just witnessed this weekend, I can’t wait to see what they’ve all accomplished in another 7 months!</p>

<p>Our son had minimal riding experience, and didn’t choose Thacher due to their horse program, but he has really enjoyed it. It’s about so much more than learning to ride a horse - it’s about taking on real responsibility on a daily basis, working closely with others to achieve a common goal, pushing himself to try things out of his comfort zone, and experiencing failure, but trying again and again until a skill is mastered. (That old saying about “when you fall off your horse, you need to get right back up and get back on” is definitely rooted in reality at Thacher!) </p>

<p>He has especially liked having a horse assigned to him, and has appreciated the opportunity to form a bond with his horse through their daily interactions. All the freshmen are responsible for mucking and feeding every day, and all the kids also have “barn jobs” assigned that they do on a daily basis. The riding groups really bond, and help each other out with sharing chores when a student has a conflict or commitment that makes it difficult to take care of their horse at the allotted time.</p>

<p>Later in the week, there will be lots of pictures posted on the Thacher website from Parents Weekend, including a whole gallery of photos from the Riding Exhibition. Be sure to check them out - here’s a link to the Social Stream portion of Thacher’s website - the pictures will be under the “Media Gallery” link on the right of the page.</p>

<p>[Thacher’s</a> Social Stream | Social Media Stream from The Thacher School](<a href=“http://blogs.thacher.org/social/]Thacher’s”>http://blogs.thacher.org/social/)</p>

3

<p>This new video from the Thacher channel on youtube talks about the Thacher Experience - the horse program is highlighted at around the 5:00 min mark:</p>

<p>[The</a> Thacher Experience - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

4

<p>In the horse segment of the video, the featured student, Miles, talks about “getting the silver dollar.” The Silver Dollar Club is a Thacher tradition:</p>

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<p>More info on the traditions that contribute to the unique culture at Thacher can be found here:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.thacher.org/podium/default.aspx?t=128784&rc=1[/url]”>https://www.thacher.org/podium/default.aspx?t=128784&rc=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Mountain Hiker - The horse program is clearly a Thacher differentiator. But I’m curious, did you look at other schools, any on the East Coast? why Thacher? what’s the environment like now that you’re there? Are there other significant differences?</p>

6

<p>Our son visited and interviewed at eight schools (Thacher in CA, Ridley in Canada, and six other schools on the east coast). He applied to four schools, and was accepted at all four: Deerfield Academy, Loomis Chaffee, Ridley College and Thacher.</p>

<p>He only applied to schools that we would be happy for him to attend, and each of these schools was a really good fit for him, to varying degrees, in several key areas: challenging academics, strong science/math program with robotics, great outdoor program, good arts program, and a school culture that included specific ways for students to get to know others, such as formal meals. </p>

<p>He chose to attend Thacher, and is absolutely thriving there. We just returned from Parent’s Weekend, and were so pleased to see him in his element at Thacher. One remark he made really made an impression on me. He was talking about why he was so happy, and he observed that he fit in well with all the other students - everyone there really loved school. Not that everyone loved all of their classes - of course, some people like certain classes more than others - but everyone there really loved learning.</p>

<p>And I think in a nutshell that defines the kind of student that Thacher seeks to admit, and the kind of student that does so well there: a kid that looks at learning as a joy and opportunity, not a chore or task; a kid that is innately curious about the world around them, and who wants to learn new things and stretch themselves - whether in the classroom or the athletic field or in the riding arena; a kid who embraces the idea of an Honor Code of “honor, fairness, kindness, truth” and wants to be a part of a community of teens and adults who support each other and learn from each other every day.</p>

<p>The horse program at Thacher is definitely a differentiator - but it’s really about so much more than just learning to ride! It’s the vehicle that Thacher uses to teach some pretty important things: responsibility, teamwork, perseverance, and the intrinsic reward of gaining competence in a difficult task, and the confidence that goes along with that.</p>