Life as an Intern at St. Andrews

By Madison Edwards for Equine Business Management class

Michelle Eld is a senior Business Administration Major and has competed on the hunter seat and western team throughout her time at St. Andrews. She is President of the business club and has participated in the honors program. She is a great team leader and a wonderful asset to the program. Michelle is one of six interns doing a semester long internship to organize the American National Riding Commission National Championships (ANRC) hosted by St. Andrews April 17 – 19, 2015.

I spoke to Michelle about her internship.

Q: How has this experience been beneficial?

A: This experience has provided me with insightful knowledge about event planning in addition to giving me the opportunity to have a truly hands on experience throughout planning ANRC.

Q: Were there any challenges you faced along the planning process?

A: The biggest challenge I faced is organizing my time, especially the week of the event because of how much dedication it takes to put on an event of this caliber.

Q: What were some of the major projects you are involved in?

A: The major projects I was involved in was scheduling food vendors and getting sponsorships from local and corporate venues. However, all of us interns worked together in a variety of ways in media relations, hospitality, and volunteer management.

Q: What are some valuable lessons you will take away from this experience?

A: One of the most important things I have gained from this internship is experience is communicating with business owners and building relationships with them. Additionally, I have gained a healthy respect for people who successfully plan and organize large scale events.

Q: How has your St. Andrews education prepared you for this internship.

A: My St. Andrews education has prepared me for this internship by giving me the communication skills that have prepared me to forge successful business relationships. Additionally, it has allowed me to combine my love and knowledge of horses with my business education.

I look forward to this weekend and I wish the best for luck to all competitors! I also want to thank all of the volunteers who have helped us not only this week but also throughout the past few months. 

The Semester is Almost Over

The last week of classes flew by! Friday evening we had a pizza party for everyone that worked so hard at Western Semi-Finals. That event certainly required a lot of extra effort from everyone and the weather was not at all cooperative – Many thanks to all how made that huge weekend possible. Exams started Saturday and last night was the annual Rider’s Roast sponsored by Riding Council. This is a fun event that which gives everyone a break from studying. Exams continue all this week with the baccalaureate service on Friday at 4:00 and graduation on Saturday.

Kelsi and the ANRC team spent the weekend at Sweet Briar at the American National Riding Commission National Championships. This competition is very competitive and requires excellence in all areas. Neither the National or Novice team placed this year but both teams had good placings in the written phase which is part of this multi phase competition. Sophomore Kirsten Farley had this to say about the competition. "ANRC was definitely an intensely competitive show. There were 36 riders in Novice and 30 riders for the National teams. All of them brought their A game and it was a fun and new experience to go through. We rode our hearts out and had fun in the process."

Regi Barasch 8th in the National Team Medal Individually
Katy Hutchings 10th in the Written Phase Individually
Novice Team 4th in the Written Phase
National Team 6th in the Written Phase

Looking Forward to This Week
Tuesday the Hunter Seat and Western teams travel to Harrisburg, VA to compete in the IHSA National Championships. Liz Dulski and I are traveling with the teams to work the draw table so will be reporting on these events at the end of this week and over the week end.

Good luck to all our students with exams and to all competitors at IHSA.

Novice Team - Amy Wrozek, Katy Hutchings and Kirsten Farley

Written Phase Ribbons

Regi Barasch and Kemosabi

Alumni, ANRC, and RLAK Show

Meg Donahue, Frank Bria, Jennifer James & Howard Morrison were the National Championship team winning riders in 2002. Debbie White and Peggy McElveen coached. The gray horse on the left is Peter and the liver chestnut 3rd from left is JC both of who are retired at the Equestrian Center.

This weekend is Alumni weekend. We are excited to welcome the class of 2003 back to campus. The photo is of the 2002 ANRC National Championship team, many of who will be here this weekend. Click here for the schedule of Alumni events. These events include the annual Ride-Like-A-Knight horse show which starts at 10:30 on Saturday with demonstrations by the equestrain team followed by classes for participants in the program.  

Josh Dazey, Red Ted and Philip Radford at the 2012 RLAK show.

Meanwhile this year's ANRC team is competing in Baltimore at the 2013 National Championships in both the Open and Novice divisions. Good luck to all our riders, coaches and horses.

Don’t forget to support the 2013 Nationals teams by eating at Jersey Mikes in Lbg. tomorrow between 4 & 9 p.m. or shopping at our online store .

Spring Stuff!

With the end of the semester looming we are busy wrapping up classes, practicing our teams for Nationals and enjoying the traditional end of semester activities. Yesterday the RLAK club held their spring picnic. Everyone enjoyed great food, fun games and an opportunity to let loose before the start of a busy academic week.


Riders on all of the intercollegiate teams are busy with practices. The ANRC team leaves on Wednesday for the drive to Baltimore for their National Championships. Coach Kelsi Peterson will be traveling with five riders. Kim Graves, Katie Hansen, Abigail Skillman, Alexandra Fullerton and Keli van den Heuvel will be representing St. Andrews at this four phase equitation competition. They will be competing in the written test, program ride, cross country course and medal course all phases are judged on equitation apart from the written test of course which is judged on knowledge of horse care including basic veterinary care. Good luck to these riders, their horses and Coach Peterson.

We are still busy with fund raising. Our Queensboro store sends a commission on every item of clothing sold and this Friday from 4 – 9 p.m. Jersey Mikes in Laurinburg will be contributing 15% of all proceeds to the Equestrian Team. Please support these stores if you can.

TH Seniors & Ice-Cream!

ANRC Warm Up Competition & Logo Wear For Sale!

The ANRC team travelled to Cottonwood Farm in Vanceboro to compete in the 3^rd annual Horsemanship Competition sanctioned by the USHJA and ANRC. Click here for a full report.

We are very excited to report that after many requests we have an online store where you can purchase St. Andrews Equestrian logo wear. There is a large selection of polo shirts, T-shirts, button downs, fleeces, and hats etc. Currently the only logo available at the online store is with a jumping horse, but we hope to open new stores with logos for western, dressage and Ride-Like-A-Knight in the future. The neat part of this program is that with every purchase a portion comes back to the Equestrian program. A win-win for everyone that has been asking about where to buy logo wear and for the program! Happy Shopping click here.