Meet the Hunter/Jumper Horses!

There are all sorts of wonderful horses in the Hunter/Jumper barn! They are all donated by amazing people and are teaching students how to ride hunt seat. We have a herd of 38 horses, made of of mares, geldings and all sorts of breeds, sizes and colors. Here are a few that you might find if you visit the hunter/jumper barn!

Life as a WWU Keeper

Keeper [key-purr] noun

                1. A student who is enrolled in ­­­­­­­­­­­­­Horse Management Practicum I or II, whose main duties involve taking care of the horses at WWU along with other students in the class.

                2. An absent roommate who smells like horse all the time.

Also see: #keeperlife

I Volunteer with Horses (but it's not what you think)

Growing up, I have not always been into horses, as I had just interacted with them at the occasional pony rides at the race track we would go and visit during the summer with my family. It was when I was 14 and in the 8^th grade that one of my close friends asked me if I liked horses, and as an animal lover I answered, “YES!” My friend introduced me to the place where my passion for working with and along side horses came true. The barn is called Sunnyside Equestrian Center and it houses a program known as SPUR which is an acronym for Special People United to Ride.

Sunnyside Equestrian Center

I'm not a horse person but I sure have learned a lot!

Going to school here at William Woods it is impossible to not know someone who is in the equestrian program. It effects everyone here and even if you aren’t in the program you end up learning quite a bit about horses, the barn and the whole nine yards. Jennah and Morgan are both EQS majors and Aly is an EQS minor. Megan is neither a major or minor but she has been around horses before and rides sometimes when she is at home. So that leaves me, Lacey, the only person in the group who does not have a horse background. And so, I am writing a post about a non-equestrian person’s perspective into the program.

A Major Highlight into the Biology Pre-Vet Program

Hey everyone! This week we had a friend of ours write a post on Her major. Her name is Kira, you might remember her from our hiking post from last year or her post on Having and Quitting a Job. She went to Freshman Advantage (the summer program here at WWU) with Megan, Aly, and I. She is a sophomore in the Honor's Program who is majoring in Biology/Pre-Vet.

     ~Lacey

  BIOLOGY PRE-VET  

             I am majoring in biology with a concentration in pre-veterinary medicine. I have wanted to be a veterinarian since I was little because I love animals and there have been many instances where the animals in my life have needed medical help.

How I Train My Horse

Hello, friends!

Now I know that I talk a lot about my horses but…I’m about to do it again haha. I know that most of you know from many of the other posts from my fellow blogger friends that doing other things while college is going on is hard. However, trying to train your one year old horse, who you all know is my beautiful boy Star, is difficult.

Why I Go Home on the Weekends

Hello, friends I don’t know if you guys know, but this semester I am taking class Monday though Thursday and I don’t have any class on Friday. Every weekend I go home and my roommates hate this because they like to hang out all together in our room or go out and do something together but I am never there. There are a few reasons that that I do this.

WWU Hunter/Jumper Derby

     Last weekend, William Woods hosted the Fall Hunter/Jumper Derby. The hunter/jumper show team runs the competition, which consists of classes anywhere from ground poles to 2’ hunters to 3’ jumpers. This was my first time showing as a Jumper, and it was a very awesome experience!

WWU Summer Riding Camp - A Stablehand's Perspective

Over the summer, just like most college students, I got a job.  I had the opportunity to work with the horses at William Woods.  It ended up being a pretty rough summer, but that’s a different story.  The barn on-campus functions a lot differently over the summer than during the semester because all the students are gone.  For the summer, a lot of the horses leave campus.  They either go out to pasture or get leased out to a summer home.

WWU Clubs

When you go to college everyone wants to give you advice. I remember checking out at Walmart and when my Dad mentioned I was going to college next week I suddenly started getting advice from the cashier, the cashier in the next lane over and the customer behind us! Most of what people say is either common sense, not worth listening to, or is repeated by everyone. One of those repeated pieces of advice is to join clubs on campus. Four of us here at Friends at the Woods agree with this wholeheartedly. We are still trying to convince Aly to join clubs but the rest of us cant imagine college without them. So, today we are each going to describe the clubs we were a part of last year. If you are coming to WWU this is a great way to see SOME of what our campus has to offer. If you aren't coming to WWU then you are going to the wrong school! JK! Maybe you can start a club like one you see here at your own school. So without further ado, WWU clubs...

Lessons We Learned Freshman Year

During this first year at college we have learned both in and out of class. We don't want to bore you with things we learned in class, however, we have compiled a list of life lessons we have learned this year to share with you. Some of them are for life in general, some of them are for college students and some of them are specifically for William Woods students. So in no specific order.......

1. It doesn't matter how hard you try, you will step on goose poop at least once while you are here. Accept it and move on.
2. Sororities (and Fraternities) are not for everyone, try recruitment just to see but if you don't feel comfortable DON'T JOIN!! But if you do go for it!!
3. This one has been said.....but your dorm room is small! Don't make it feel smaller by trying to pack everything you own in there.
4. Some of the people you consider friends at the beginning of the year might be people you don't talk to by the end of the year.
   
   

Meet the Horses in the Western Barn

Hi friends! Aly here, today I wanted to give you a little sneak peck into the Western Barn at school. I was able to take pictures of 11 horses cause, the horses live a very busy life. On to the show we go!

My First Horse Show on Campus

As many of you know, I am an equestrian student at my college. I am taking a hunter/jumper class and a dressage class (trust me when I say double seating is not an easy task). In the number of years I have been riding, which is only about five, I have only competed in one dressage show. That is another story. However, it was a good experience for getting me into the show ring. The story I would like to share is the story of my first horse show on-campus. (By the way, both of the shows I have competed I have been schooling shows, which means they are not recognized shows.)

For those who aren’t familiar with dressage, I will take a few moments to explain how showing works. 

A Weekend At My House

Hi friends!  This post is about this past weekend when my friends, Jennah, Lacey, and Alyssa, all came to my house the first time.  I made the one-hour trip home at 11:00 o-clock as normal, and my friends came home later because some of them had classes during the afternoon. They met up my mom in Jefferson City and followed her home.  When they got there, we all went down to my horses to feed them. My friends were excited to finally see the horses that I have been talking about since day one. They loved them, although Lacey was a little shy around them. She hasn’t really been around horse before so that was normal. After that,

Meet Jennah

Hello! My name is Jennah and I am a sophomore at William Woods University. I am an Equestrian Science and Accounting double major whose ultimate goal is to run my own riding center and teach kids of all ages (including those pony-loving adults!) how to care for and enjoy God’s wonderful creatures. I also plan to become an accountant, because keeping track of things –especially money- is important for running a business. Also, horses are expensive (as all y’all horse people know the struggle) and accounting is a stable career which I enjoy!

Meet Aly

Hello again and thank you for coming to visit me on my page welcome. ☺ My full name is Alysha Anna Marie and I am from the great state of Missouri; I have lived heard my whole life as far as I know. The reason I say this is when I was born my birth parents didn’t have enough money to take care of me so I was put up for adoption. That is where I met my parents and my life has been nothing blessings ever sense that day.

Meet Victoria

*Victoria no longer writes for the blog*

Hi guys, my name is Victoria!  There is more to know about me than I think this blog post can hold but I will do my best. I come from large family of eight, with me being the oldest child of six (4 boys, 2 girls).  My family is currently living in Illinois. For me, “where are you from?” has been a complicated question that I dread. You see, I come from a military family, my dad was in the air force. So technically, I suppose I’m from Maryland where I was born. However, I moved to Georgia at the age of two. Then I moved again to Las Vegas when I was seven.  Finally, I moved to Illinois at the age of twelve, where my family currently lives.