University: Did you go or are you there now?

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fabregas

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So, I have a gap year before I start my English degree, and I am working so hard riding my 3 and sometimes 3 others every day.
I recently put an ad on HorseQuest asking for new opportunities and was flooded by responses. Two I have taken up.

University : how did it affect your riding career? Everyone tells me I need a ' back up plan' and I love my subject, English, so I know I will enjoy it.
But, I have worked SO hard to get this far with my eventing.

Any tips on how to sustain this next year when I go to Uni? It is going to be so hard! I am one of those people who like to do everything to the best, so I'm not good at compromise.

Experiences?... all helpful. Thanks :)
 
I did but didn't have the horse side of things I had dogs so not really what your after but I would ask what are you going to do with your english degree once you've got it??

These days there is no free education unless your folks are happy to pay and student loans which seem like free money at the time are an enormous burden once your leave uni and have to pay it back so I'd ask anyone considering going:

1) what are you going to do with your degree with regard to career?

2) What is the earning potential from your chosen career?

I know lots of people that I studied with that would love to have families or buy a home or just travel and have the basics but paying back the student loan is crippling.
 
I'm 18 and don't know what to do r.e. University!

I'm currently in y13 although should have left already! (went back a year)

I don't want to go away so was thinking of a gap year riding before I look for something! It's such a hard decision knowing what to do.
 
Firstly are you going to live at home or live at uni? Also are you wanting to full embrace the social life or do you mind going home to ride when everyone else is off out partying?!! This will have a big impact on your horses and riding.

I graduated from university this year and I did a Geography degree. Whilst I was there I had 2 horses on part livery a middle aged horse and what was a green project tb. I lived at university for the first two years (approximately an hour away), which meant I tended to live at uni Mon-Fri, I tried to get all my work (and socialising!!) done then! I then either came home Friday night/Saturday morning and returned Sunday evening/Monday morning.

For my last year I lived at home and travelled in this allowed alot more time for the horses. In my first couple of years I really just left the tb to get fat and fluffy especially in 1st year and concentrated on the older one who I managed to still do some BD with, mostly thanks to my Dad lunging him in the week and me riding at weekends. I found it much easier in my last year and managed to keep both in work but obviously there was also more work to do in my final year so there was a fair bit of juggling!

It is definately possible but I think you need supportive parents.. I was very lucky they helped take care of them. It is also much easier if you live at home. However if you want the full university experience.. living away, going out alot it is much more difficult. I still socialised but missed weekend events.. which didn't matter to me as I wanted to see my horses! I also lived on an agricultural/equine campus (Brackenhurst) so quite a few people went home at weekends as they also had horses at home.. so perhaps didn't miss as much as I would have done at another uni!
 
I am a mature student now doing my degree and I wish so much I had gone straight from school and done it in 3 years full time. I work full time, have 2 horses and a dog and I barely find the time to sleep now! Having a degree is getting more and more important now, the years of experience no longer means as much unless you also have that little bit of paper!

I also work at a university and nearly all our jobs that are advertised now require a degree, even basic admin roles. I've only decided to do it now as I know there's going to get to a point soon where I will not be able to go any higher in my career and get a better job without one.

The student loan should not stop anyone, especially with the new funding available. Also you only start paying it back once you earn over a certain amount and even then it's a tiny percentage. Majority of graduates pay around £20-£50 a month back so peanuts in comparison so what you have gained in education and possibilities.

3 years seems a long time but really it isn't when you look at the bigger picture. I just advise anyone to get there heads down and finish uni, 3 years will fly by and the academic teaching year is oct-may so not even a year and it's not 5 days a week all day. You may have to juggle things about a bit but it will be worth it in the end and much better than trying to study later on when you have to work, run a house, walk dogs and ride ponies!

Good luck :)
 
My advice having felt like you do when I was 19 is to go to uni. Life changes so much and your priorities will change. Having been to uni I have far more options and a good career. I stayed close to home Nd kept my horse, was broke but managed.
 
Thank you so much for the replies. Forgive me for not repling to you individually.
I have so much to think about, and consider. 3 years is a long time! but I know it will open doors for me.
I am realistic about a horsey future, and don't have rich parents.
Just very interested in how other CR coped. :) :)
 
2nd year student,

I have been boarding away from home since secondary school, though i just compete Unaff i still manage to compete every weekend but that is with me going home every weekend! (Mum rides my horse during the week as a happy hacker)

All depends on how close you are to home. Your social life could be affected however most things happen during the week anyway!
I would reccomend if you are close to live at uni first year to get the experience, but remember uni days are not full (depending on subject - I have a lovely timetable for geography at my uni!)
It will be a hard decision, but remember each uni have riding teams which can also be good experience for you as well.
 
I sold my own and rode for other people when I was at university reading English. It gave me the flexibility to keep competing and being involved without having to be there every morning to feed and every evening to put them to bed. A has just begun studying and is riding 4 a day most days but they are at home and his father and I have had to pick up a lot of the yard work.

I also now work in a University and so might rather predictably say education is important and although not a passport to success a part of your development that you might find easier to achieve now rather than later in life, although it is never too late.

It can be done if you are single minded. Very best of luck.
 
I am at uni at the moment, and have been since the end of september, I brought my horse with me as couldnt leave him at home 400 miles away, i wouldn't say its had much of a impact on my social life as i dont really do the whole going out thing, its just not the sort of scene i enjoy, i love having taz at uni, has let me have more lessons and compete more than i did at home, he's on diy. The early morning before lectures can be a bit of a pain, but on the days im not on lectures its great, so far taz has been put before my studies and my studies is put before sleeping, im lucky that the yard I am keeping him on is only a 2 minute drive away.
 
I went to vet school for 5yrs and kept a horse at home. He had sharers who looked after him during the week and I went home at weekends to ride and compete. We did all sorts of things, but mostly BD - I wasn't into eventing back then and am not sure I would have managed to have him kept fit enough for me to event at weekends. I used to party during the week and nip off home at weekends. Fortunately it wasn't too far.
 
Competed at BE Novice during my uni years but only with the one horse. And also only thanks to my mum schooling and keeping him for during the week. Oh and thanks to my Dad for paying for him! :)
 
I graduated 7 years ago and gave up horses completely for the 3 years I was away! It was terrible for my riding, but I had a real student experience and because I did a BSc, the hours in the lab and lectures pretty much totalled up to a full-time job anyway. I went to a big city centre uni and don't know anyone who kept a horse while there.

I could have carried on not having horses but I missed it too much. In a weird way, I'm glad I had the break, as it taught me that horses aren't the centre of the universe and you can cope without them.
 
Before uni I would say I found my horse of a lifetime. He wasn't mine but rode him alot and then came to uni, couldn't find anywhere half as decent as i was used to to ride as and discovered boys and booze which seemed far more exciting. Gave up for about seven years then got back into riding through a friend ;)
 
I have my horse with me at uni as it is cheaper to have him on part livery in Yorkshire than DIY in surrey!! It's great coz I don't have any stable duties to do, just go to the yard and ride, I can have everything done in an hour if I'm in a hurry! I have a sharer 2 days a week who basically pays for shoeing, and if its a really hectic week I might also give him a day off. It's definitely doable!!
 
A degree is no longer the garunteed job passport it once was. I strongly suggest you speak with a careers adviser and try and come up with a plan for where you want to be and what you want to be doing in your future before going to do a degree, especially one in english (and this is coming from a current english phd student). Look at the job market and see what kind of jobs are available, and the sort of experience/qualifications they require.

These days, as well as a degree you need internships, viable suitable work experience amongst other things. There is no point in going to University unless you have an idea what area you want to work in after graduating. Broad-covering degrees like English are less valued than ever, having been replaced with marketing, business management etc.

If you don't know what you want to do, I'd suggest taking a year out to try and figure this one out. There's no point in going to University without some sort of plan in mind (even if you end up changing your mind later, you'll at least have made some steps towards gaining decent experience).

Sorry if I sound like the voice of doom, but I'm one of a group of 4 english students who recently graduated with all the right things (good university, good band qualifications, good extra curricular activities). We were all part of the generation who went to uni having been told a degree was the gateway to a degree. Now, 2 of us are doing PhDs, where we are continually being told that there are no jobs once we graduate. 1 is working in an office doing basic jobs alongside others with these broad-facing degrees which don't seem to be seen as real-world relevant by employers. 1 is working in a library; of her 2 colleagues who hold the exact same position and started at the same time, 1 never went to uni and is straight out of school and 1 has a masters in librarian studies (and is now wondering why she bothered since it seems to be fairly irrelevant in the job selection process). Most of my friends are currently wondering why they bothered with university at all.

It is a great experience and I highly recommend it. I learnt a lot, grew as a person and made phenomenal friends. But it is no longer the gateway to a job that it used to be. It is a great help, but you will need to do other things to distinguish yourself from the pack.
The question is, can you manage to balance horses, university work and the cv building part-time job/internship/volunteer work/extra-curricular groups etc. that you will also need to be doing at the same time.

I have managed to keep my horse on DIY livery throughout my 6 years at University (undergrad degrees in Scotland are 4 years, not 3). It was pretty tough going, and there were some times he didn't get much attention. For the first 2 months of my masters he got an unplanned holiday completely, and right now I'm lucky if I manage to ride 3 times a week. But, he is my stress relief and I wouldn't change it. I also managed to run a society (not horsey) and do a part-time job at the same time.

My sister, on the other hand, in science couldn't balance pony, part-time work, society and uni and her pony is now on loan.

It really depends on your subject and circumstances, and how much of the social side of University is important to you. My advice to any horse-owning University student would be to go for it and try to have both, but be aware and prepared to accept that, in order to succeed in Uni, you may end up having to give up horses for a time.

Sorry if this seems rather doom-and-gloom, but the world is now a very harsh place, and graduates everywhere are feeling it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't actually rely on a degree as a back up plan anymore, there's much more to getting your first job than a bit of paper these days.

If you have the opportunity to try for a riding career I'd say go for it - University will alway be there, and it's far better to be the newer graduate in an over-saturated market than the older one still searching for that first job.
 
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MissSBird said:
If you have the opportunity to try for a riding career I'd say go for it - University will alway be there, and it's far better to be the newer graduate in an over-saturated market than the older one still searching for that first job.
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Excellent advice.

If it were me in this position, I'd say defer another year (if you already have a place, most unis will let you) and in this time your riding career will either take off, or not, so then you can decide.

Good luck with whatever you choose, I have to say if I had the chance to begin a riding career I would most definitely go for it!!
 
I didn't go for 2 years for that exact reason ;)

I am now finishing my second year (of a 4 year degree, my god!) and its gone so much faster than I thought. I wish I'd gone straight away, in all honesty (but was a little more complicated as I live overseas). There's always time for horses later :)
 
I am in my 3rd year at uni. During my first and second year I really wished I hadn't bothered with uni but now, I am looking at graduate jobs and I am glad I am going to have a degree at the end so I can get a good job.

I have been working as a groom non stop for the last 4 years part time and am starting to resent having to do my own horses and it's do dull doing the same stuff over and over. I did think about doing training etc professionally but I don't want to be one of those old, crippled and opinionated older horsey people when I reach 50 so decided to keep competing and training as a hobby.
 
Also, to add, I juggled my degree, having 3 horses and a part time job and I compete BD. however, I do live at home and my horses live at home also and mum helps me out with jobs etc. I am actually finding I have more time in my 3rd year now as only have 6-8 hours of lectures a week. I work 16hours a week.
I did a gap year before I started uni as didn't know what I wanted to do. I worked part time as a groom and trained my horses. My degree is equine sport science and, whilst I have enjoyed it, I kinda wish I had done business.
 
MissSBird is right, a degree does not guarantee you a job any more, and you definitely need to realise that. I am a third year and study Accounting and Finance so very specific and I am struggling to find a graduate job. Everyone wants lots of work experience and internships that last the whole of the summer, which is not the best when you have horses and want to compete. I understand if you want a job in horses after, then the degree won't matter, but it won't really be a back up plan as people want experience.
In terms of keeping horses, it definitely depends how close you are and how much you are committed. I am a £40 train ticket home, or 2 hours in car. I go home once every 6 weeks, but luckily I have my mum and a sharer to keep my horse going (he is not competition fit) For me it means when I get back for holidays I spend my time getting him fit, and then once he is fit again, I go back to uni...
If you are closer, then you can go back every weekend, and even a day in the week as lectures for English are not all day everyday. You will need someone back at home to ride them to keep them ticking over though. And it could affect your social life, but it depends whether you care about that much? I know someone who goes home every weekend to ride and she balances everything fine.
 
I'm at Uni now in my second year of a three year maths degree. I would like to work with horses when I leave, but I'm getting a degree as a back up plan so to speak.
I live at home, with an hour and a half(ish) commute each way. My horse is kept on full livery, which I am very lucky to have and certainly helps a lot, but I manage to ride properly 6 times a week, compete most weekends BSJA, have two part time yard jobs and do a bit of riding for other people as and when needed.
I dont have the social life that my uni friends have, but i do go out sometimes and still get plenty of time to socialize with them!
I've had probably my most succesful year yet competing wise, so it is def workable, you just need to be organised and dedicated! I don't think I would be able to have three horses and still cope though!
 
Hey

So I went to Uni to read Eng Lit while competing seriously at PSG/Young Rider dressage

Due to my amazing parents, i was able to keep my horse near uni in a dressage yard, and still compete with the yard's owners.

It was a struggle to keep up with both the horse and my studies, but an incredible experience, all I can say is, even if you have to sell all your horses before you go, you must go to University if you can!

As well as expanding your brain via study, the people you meet and the lifestyle really sets you apart later in life from people that didn't go.

It's not all roses... I had emotional ups and downs, and was permanently poor, but i can now reflect on the huge life-enrichment i experienced.

Tip: do Student riding! i did, and after winning the national champs i ended up representing GB student riders several times abroad. The friends i made there I'm closer too now than the guys I lived with at Uni!

Good luck :)
 
I used to be very 'anti-uni' when I finished my A-levels as all I wanted to do was event. So I did two years working full time as a working pupil on an event yard which I absolutely adored. But after about 18 months I started to panic that if something happened to me or it all went wrong, I wouldn't have enough to back myself up with. So, I went to uni and took my horse with me. I'm now in my final year and absolutely love it- having a horse here has been the nicest distraction when work has been stressful, or I just wanted to get out of the student 'bubble'!
My riding hasn't suffered in any way (I don't think!) and I was lucky to pass my HGV during my first term as a fresher so I've been able to compete/train when I want. y horse has always been on DIY livery and I've always found time to take good care of him- of course this is slightly different to your situation as you have a few more horses- I think 2 horses are definitely manageable on a DIY basis- I have time to ride a couple of others for friends but I only have to turn up and ride and not actually do all of the mucky work!
I'm hoping to get a 'proper' job after uni- something which is a lot easier with a degree (for what I want to do anyway) and all of the networking that I can now make the most of having been here for three years. But equally I want to get a couple more horses and crack on with the riding a bit more again when I leave.
I would say that if you really want to give your riding a good go first, then don't feel that you have to go straight after school or even after one gap year- you can have as many as you want (I deferred my place twice!). This gives you a chance to see how it goes and you won't feel that you have wasted any potential opportunities, but at the same time you can rest easy knowing that if it doesn't work out the way you had planned, you are not completely 'stuck'!
Sorry if this makes no sense whatsoever! Good luck!
 
Unless things have changed hugely re: English degrees the good news is that compulsory lectures/tutorials per week are fairly few (I think I had 10 hours per week compulsory), so it's easy to fit riding around them. I studied English Lit at Birmingham and rode pretty much every day, the only term I didn't was my final one, just impossible during exams. Obviously if you're going to a Uni fairly close to home and/or the yards where the horses are, that'll make it much easier.
 
Take the opportunity to go to Uni, enjoy this time! It's a right haha! I did a horsey gap year working for riders, race yards did a bit of travelling then did the Uni thing, kept 3 horses on DIY with help from my supportive mum (im not from a wealthy or horsey family) who also worked full time and worked SERIOUSLY hard till a practically exhausted my self but it was worth it plus one of the horses went to 4* level and I got to compete at Badminton and Burghley whist doing my dissertation (perhaps not the greatest idea!!! Still a bit manic but you can do it if you want it badly enough. I do have a lot of student debt but wouldn't change it for the world. I had my cake and ate it so my responsibility!
 
muckypony said:
If it were me in this position, I'd say defer another year (if you already have a place, most unis will let you) and in this time your riding career will either take off, or not, so then you can decide.
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^ Being a few years older when starting uni will never put you at a disadvantage, if that's what you're worrying about ;) One year out can always be stretched to two/three/four - and it's unlikely that fees will be rocketing up again any time soon.


I'm at uni at the moment (2nd year) and my horse is still at home - he is shared between me and my mum. I don't have the time to have him at uni with me - you might be able to with certain subjects, depending on the amount of contact time, but my course is a busy one - nor am I in an ideal location living in the middle of a big city. I get home every so many weekends to ride him (probably every 3 or 4 weeks?) but it's not enough to progress with. I'd probably be able to go home every weekend if I *really* wanted it, but it's a fair trek, costs £20-30 a time, I like socialising with people at uni and also play hockey (badly :p) so often have matches at a weekend!

There are some eventers who have been very successful despite being at uni (Emily Parker is the one that springs to mind) but they have generally had just 1/2 horses, and a lot of at home help keeping the horses fit or transporting them about.
 
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I went to Uni, graduated in 2011, I new if I went and moved away I woul have to sell my horse, my mum would have looked after him but not ride him and he needs to be kept busy, and i couldnt bare to part with him, he has taken me from pc small events to intermediate eventing BE. So I stayed at home and commuted to Uni, worked really well actually with my course turned out I was only in 3-4 days a week. I would of loved a career in the equine industry but felt majority of careers don't pay enough to fund them for yourself so I went down the non horsey career route to be able to afford to do what I want with my own :)
 
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