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Here, at the School of Equine Studies, we have four different majors that students can study. Our original major was equine facility management, also we have equine entrepreneurship, equestrian teacher trainer English. Those students have to ride to the highest level in our program in three English riding disciplines: in dressage, in hunter, and stadium jumping. So those students are in the tack virtually every semester. At least one riding class a semester.

Our newest major, and possibly our most popular major right now, is equine therapeutic horsemanship. Students can major in equine therapeutic horsemanship and track in the instructor track, or the administrator track. The instructor track is the student who wants to actually teach riding lessons to participants riding the horse, so they need to be a very good rider. The administrator track is for students who are passionate about working in a therapeutic industry, and so they would select that track in that major. We really work hard with our students to get them to work on projects and take on learning endeavors that enable them to reach for something deeper and stronger in themselves. One of the best ways we do that is through internships.

We have people go outside of the country a lot. We send people to pretty much anything, anywhere. We had a girl who said she wanted to do jousting, so we found her a place where she could do jousting shows through the summer. The teacher trainer majors usually go work with young horses or work with training horses under a well known trainer somewhere in the country or outside the country. The therapeutic students get internships that help them get their teaching hours to work towards path certification. I did an internship at Fieldstone Farm, which is a therapeutic riding center in Chagrin Falls.

So one of the things that prospective students always want to know is, can I ride on a team? So the answer is almost invariably yes. Our teams are open for all Lake Erie College students to try out for a spot on the team. We are in the IHSA horse show system. So we have an eye IHSA hunting team, an IHSA western team, and an Intercollegiate Dressage Association team. And the teams form a very cohesive group for students to have school pride, work hard, learn a lot, travel together, and it really is one of the most attractive and memorable experiences for a college student to be on a riding team.

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