I remember George being much more affordable for equestrian.
I can’t recall Loomis costs because my non-horse daughter was the applicant there, but I think I remember it being not crazy-expensive. Fountain Valley and Asheville also seemed less expensive. (that said, I don’t know if these programs would be robust enough for a true equestrienne?)
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Just wanted to thank everyone for your input and advice! We are at this point planning to apply to: Andover (I don’t like this school for her, don’t think she will be happy there, but she really wants to apply so we’ll go ahead and see what happens); Choate; Loomis Chaffee; Taft; Dana Hall.
Andover admissions very honestly answered my question about whether she could do equestrian on the side… and basically said it’s possible but probably super difficult and that she’d be missing out on things with the time spent away from campus. Choate was more encouraging about the idea of her riding on weekends, but I still think she’d be better off at a school where riding is actually a recognized sport option, which the rest of the schools do offer.
Would have loved to keep Kent in the mix, but the equestrian program there is - no exagerration - almost 10 times the cost at other schools.
She got into Dana Hall last year and declined, so I don’t know how or if that will impact their willingness to admit her again. Obviously she will need to be prepared to address that question in essays/interview.
It’s been great bouncing all of this around with you all! I’ll come back with more questions and updates 
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Have you gotten specifics on riding at Taft?? It was something kiddo1 was interested in there, but when we interviewed, we were told only one student rides on weekends, and it’s arranged by her parents. And yet Taft continues to keep riding on their lists of available sports…
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Just another one chiming in to say that I was worried about the rigor freshman year as well, but it did definitely increase (for mine it was a huge jump from 9/10 to 11/12). He also had teachers who offered additional challenges when he spoke with them. By 11/12 the class definitely seemed like they had self-sorted into those that wanted to push themselves academically and those that didn’t. Those that did found themselves grouped into honors classes and supported and challenged each other.
It sounds like your daughter is driven. For my son, who adjusted quickly to boarding school and was looking for a challenge, the “non-grind” of his classes let him individually go deeper and give more thought to the interdisciplinary aspects of the material. That mindset served him well when the rigor increased and those skills became expected. I would definitely give it a bit more time before making a final decision if all of the other aspects of the school seem to be a perfect fit. It was nice to see my child thrive in areas beyond academics. He learned so much about other aspects of himself and I think that would have been much harder for him had he been overly focused on academics.
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I’ve reached out to ask about it. This is definitely a concern, hopefully they will give an honest answer. I did note it seems sort of like a “side thing” even as described in their materials online.
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I’m still hoping she decides to stay put. We will put the applications out there and see how she’s feeling in the spring!!
The school she’s at has an IB program starting junior year, so I assume the intensity would ramp up then for sure!
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The IB programs are a lot of work! Especially in the US because the school year is shorter, so less time to get through all the material.
Glad you have a plan!
Ditto to @cityran’s comment. Our DD asked at Taft about riding as her sport - not casually on the weekends, but 6 days / week. Was told emphatically that it would never happen. The school would not support it, would not help organize the logistics, nor would she be given permission to leave campus to show.
Hi all:
Wanted to update everyone since you all were so helpful and might want to know the outcome. My daughter has decided that she wants to stay put!
I’m so very happy about this, because I really feel like the school is a wonderful fit for her. I honestly feel like some outside influences got into her head and convinced her that prestige was super important, but now that she’s had a full term there, settled in and made some good friends - she doesn’t want to go anywhere else
Regarding the academic challenge bit, she said the classes are starting to pick up in pace a little, and truly I suspect that by the time she hits junior year and can pursue the IB diploma, it will be a lot of work and a lot of challenge.
Thanks for all the tips and letting me bounce all this around with you folks!
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This is great news!! That first term - also at college - can be be unsettling and include a lot of second-guessing.
Thanks so much for the update. Hope there will be more. It’s super helpful to the community to be able to go back and see how things unfold. You aren’t the first in this situation and you won’t be the last!
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