What can you do with an Equine Business Management Degree?

by Mary Thomson for Equine Business Management Class

When I first started looking for colleges, I knew I wanted to find a college where I could combine my love for riding horses and get a degree that I could use later in life. St. Andrews University offers a unique Equine Business Management degree that has allowed me to do just that. When people first hear me say that I am getting my bachelor’s degree in “Equine Business Management” they tend to look at me funny, but this is always a great conversation starter. I am able to then explain what all I have learned as a part of this degree.

            Unlike an Equine Studies degree, Equine Business Management is a business degree. We take classes like Accounting, Economics, Finance, Communications, and Marketing to name a few. What makes this degree special is that in addition to these business classes, we also get hands-on learning with the horses at the equestrian center. We take classes like Stable Management, Equitation, and Horse Science. We learn about horses inside and out and everywhere in between. Combining these two elements in this special degree makes for dynamic equine professionals entering the workplace.

            Many people ask me what you can do with a B.A. in Equine Business Management. My answer would be almost anything! Many students who graduate with this degree go on to become barn managers, trainers, professional riders, sales representatives for equine companies, and much more. The great thing about this degree, is that it does not limit students to only working in the equestrian field. Because it is also a business degree, it opens up the possibility to go into many other fields as well. If you are interested in furthering your education past a bachelor’s, there is now the opportunity to receive your master’s in Business Administration at St. Andrews. If you love riding or just being around horses and want to make them a part of your future career, consider checking out the Equine Business Management degree at St. Andrews University!

Western Team Qualifies for IHSA National Championships!

by Guest Blogger Coach Carla Wennberg

Florida State University was Host college
17 other Universities represented; Top Four placing out of 16 riders per class move forward to nationals.

Results for St Andrews University;
Jarret Vaughn, from Gastonia, NC was 3rd in Intermediate  Horsemanship
Logan Teeter, from Henderson, NC was first in Novice Horsemanship
Both students advance to Nationals as Individuals in those divisions

Top three Teams winning points advance forward to Nationals IN Springfield, Mass. First weekend of May!
1. University of Findlay 32 points
2. St Andrews University 31 points
3. Black Hawk College 22 points

4. Middle Tennessee State University
5. Alfred State University
6. University of Fla.
7. Cal Poly Pomona
8. University of Delaware

Great Competition, Lovely location!
We fought all the way through the weekend to stay consistent and not make mistakes!!!
It paid off. I am soooo Proud of my Team and their Sp
All the hard work and determination!
It takes a Village to make this all work!!
Thank you to Lindsey Agaliotis and Peggy McElveen!!!
Jennifer Sansbury for care and driving our horses to competition
Kara Copeland and Cailey Culp for great warm up riding!
Very Proud Coach!!!
Carla

Colleges and Universities represented;
Kutztown, Lenoir-Ryne, University of AZ, Rutgers, Iowa State, Florida State University, Murray State University, Centenary College, Knoxville, United States Military Academy, Western Ky University, Illinois State University, Va Tech, University of Central Fla, NE Oklahoma A&M, Missouri State University, NC State University.

Full Teams competing;
1. Alfred University, New York
2. Black Hawk College, Ill
3. Cal Poly Pomona, Calif
4. Middle Tennessee State Univ, Tn
5. St Andrews University, NC
6. University of Delaware, De
7. University of Findlay, Ohio
8. University of Fla, Fla

Dressage Senior Waiting for Slot at Nationals

Laurinburg, NC – With six riders in contention for three slots, St. Andrews University Senior Claire Pollard (Foxfire Village, NC) will have to wait another couple of weeks for other regions to end their season to see if her average percentage score of 73.243% for the year will be enough to take her to the Intercollegiate Dressage Association, National Championships hosted by Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio April 24 – 26.

Pollard ended the year as Reserve Champion in the Upper Training division with a second place at Saturday’s home show and a score of 75%. “When I first came to St. Andrews as a freshman, I wanted to try dressage because it fascinated me. I watched my senior teammates make it to Nationals and I told myself I would do the same before I graduated,” said Pollard. “I went from knowing next to nothing about dressage as an Intro rider to Reserve Champion for the region as an Upper Training rider.”

Coach Jackie Dwelle is hopeful Pollard will be making the trip to Ohio. “73.253% would be a “C” academically but in dressage that is considered a pretty good score,” quipped Dwelle who also teaches in the Equine Studies Department.

The St. Andrews team was Reserve Champion at the home show on Saturday earning 13 points and a team average score of 73.6%. Freshmen Alex Varisco was 6^th at First level with 64.063%. Junior Megan Pustarfi was 4^th in Upper Training with 73.077%, Sophomore McCall DiMarco was 5^th with 71.923%. Freshman Geneva Masak earned second place in the Lower Training division with a score of 76.739%, Sophomore Kate Neidrick and Senior Sarah Lishen were 3^rd and 4^th with scores of 71.563% and 69.063% in the Intro division.

In the Dressage Seat Equitation Regional Finals Courtney Anderson placed 3^rd at Training Level and Sarah Lishen was the Champion at the Intro Level.

“This has been a difficult year for the dressage team,” said Dwelle, “We struggled all year. We not only ran a wonderful show on Saturday with the first Dressage Seat Equitation Regional Finals and our first Regional Banquet but we also placed well. Keeping fingers and toes crossed that Claire will advance to Nationals!”

Claire Pollard

The St. Andrews Way

Guest blogger Cami Glaff for Equine Business Management class

Taking a moment to pause from this busy and exciting semester, we take a look back on the St. Andrews Equestrian Program and all that it has accomplished. While the Hunter-Seat, Western, and Dressage are all their own being within our program; we have learned to come together as one entity; to help support and cheer on one another. I talked to the Captain of the Western Team, Katie Mosca, about their year and how she feels about being a part of this program, “I really enjoyed my experience as a member of the program, because you always feel a part of the events. Whether it’s helping with your personal team or one of the other two teams; you know that your contribution matters”.  

Moving forward, through this semester there are many seniors that are sad to see the time fly by and feel lucky to have been part of such a close-knit community. Nikki Napoleone, the current President of our Riding Council gave me insight to how she feels about this year, “Being a senior, I’m seriously going to miss see my little family everyday. I feel our year went really well. I’m so proud of all the teams and what they have accomplished. We are all capable and talented riders and it is so nice to see everyone grow and prosper. Although, we are three separate teams we all come together as one- especially on show days”.

Thinking back on my four, very short years here at St. Andrews; I realize how amazingly blessed I have been. This team has become my family and we have been through thick and thin, and have come to support one another both in and out of the show ring. I love the way we push one another and always strive for the best. Though from afar, we may look like three separate communities; at our core we are one family with one goal. To be the best that we can be, it’s the St. Andrews way.

Triangle Farms Spring Indoor "C" Show - March 6, 7 & 8

by Coach Kelsi Peterson

Katy Hutchings and St. Andrews' "Landano" improved by leaps and bounds this weekend in their preparation for ANRC. On Saturday, they placed 4th in the NCHJA Adult medal and won the class on Sunday. They also picked up a 6th over fences and a 3rd in the Adult Amateur under saddle on Saturday. Sunday, they placed 2nd and 4th over fences and won the under saddle class, bringing home the reserve championship in the Adult hunters. Katy commented on how the show team ladies were full of support and encouragement and came together as a family this weekend.

Zoe Cluck and her own "Lord Gandolph" placed 2nd in the Junior/Amateur equitation on Saturday and brought home 5ths in the Junior/Amateur hunters and a 4th in the equitation flat. On Sunday, Zoe was 4th in the equitation and 3rd on the flat, and was 6th and 2nd in the Junior/Amateur over fences and 2nd on the flat, also ending up reserve champion in her division. Zoe enjoyed the team support and helping each other out throughout the weekend, and loved that she and Moe put the pieces together and ended with a fabulous over fences round on Sunday.

Taylor Westover showed St. Andrews' "Obi-Wan" in the long stirrup on Saturday and the Schooling hunters on Sunday, bringing home two 2nds in the hunter over fences and a 4th in the equitation over fences, along with a 5th and a 4th in the hunter and equitation flats on Saturday. Sunday, Taylor received a pair of 3rd places over the fences, and improved immensely in the smoothness of her rounds. Taylor felt like she and Obi connected and understood each other, and is very excited to show him in the future.

Janie Malott brought her own "Hug Me Tighter" to the show and worked hard to overcome her young horse's green moments in the show. Her Pre-Adult division on Saturday was large, and despite not winning ribbons in her rounds, Janie maintained a candid attitude and rode as well as possible. Janie took away a valuable learning experience that horse shows do not always go as planned, and looks forward to her and Finn's improvement in the show ring.

I was very impressed with this group of ladies last weekend. I love taking these young horsewomen to the shows and watching them learn, improve, and work as a team to help each other get to the show ring and make each ride better than the last.

5 Things I learned at the Region 3 PATH Conference

Guest blog post by Equine Business Management class member Hallie Myers.

This year, St. Andrews hosted the Region 3 conference and I had the opportunity to volunteer for the event. It was an amazing experience and I was able to learn a lot throughout the weekend. Although I learned much more than I could list here, these are a few of the highlights…

1.       The NFL is a nonprofit-In a session by Jennifer Donahue, I learned that the NFL is actually a nonprofit. Her point was that therapeutic riding centers should not feel the need to beg for their money but should recognize that they are offering a legitimate service and should charge accordingly.
2.       Tweeting is not as easy as it sounds-Jackie Dwelle gave a presentation on social media for therapeutic riding programs. As part of our Equine Business class, I was the social media representative for the week (which is why I am writing this blog) and I got to tweet throughout the conference. It was interesting to be able to apply some of the techniques to my posts, but it really is difficult to limit it to 140 characters.
3.       Centers can raise money by hosting birthday parties for 50 year olds-Caroline Fritch, a St. Andrews alumni, gave a presentation on how to incorporate able bodied lessons into a therapeutic riding program. The presentation was interesting because it opened up a variety of different ways that centers can earn money. One center said that they had hosted several birthday parties for 50 year olds as well as a couple of weddings. They also mentioned that offering Boy and Girl Scout troops the chance to receive badges may be a way to earn money to support a program.
4.       How to cook an old chicken to make it tender-I had a long conversation while waiting for dinner with the State Representative for South Carolina, Denise Bishop. She told me all about the chickens that she raises and eggs she sells to restaurants. The bottom line is that this conference gave me the opportunity to meet and connect with many people that I would not have otherwise. Even outside of sessions I was able to take in a lot and learn from others’ expertise.
5.       A good team makes the difference-Over the course of the weekend, I was just so amazed at how everyone worked together to make the conference run smoothly. We worked quickly and efficiently together and there were no major glitches. Although teamwork is vital in almost any field, in Therapeutic Horsemanship, it is especially important to learn how to work with a team, which may include volunteers or other instructors.