Student athletes have some of the hardest schedules on the planet. We have practice, workouts, meets, meetings, video review – repeat. 

To illustrate: this last weekend we had SEC’s and we had three back-to-back road meets. We usually have a day to recharge and catch up on life and school before we start all over again, but this time we did not have a next day off because we have Baylor on Thursday. 

Our coach pulled us out of the ECAC conference so we could compete against the bigger teams. This way when we go to Nationals in the spring, we know their horses and the team’s strengths and weaknesses. This is a smart move for sure, but also really taxing on us with four all-day meets in a 10 day period. 

And in case it sounds like I’m whining (which I admittedly am just a tiny bit), equestrian meets start at 7:00 am with the first team rider in the ring at 10:00. Then we have five riders from both teams in each of the four disciplines: jumping, flat, reining, and horsemanship.  The last rider is in the ring at 3:00 and then we have the awards ceremony and MVP awards before we finally get back on the bus and head to the airport. 

On top of that it’s midterm season, so we have a copious amount of tests and assignments due.  All in a student athlete’s days work.