One of the great things about Judson is it's unique learning environment...

Today, for my Huntseat team class, we went to Blackjack Farms in Birmingham to watch Meredith Bell, one of our team members have a lesson. Blackjack Farms is a show barn that offers lessons and boarding for jumping and eventing. This was a great opportunity for us for a couple of different reasons.

The first of which is that it let us see another equestrian facility.  Although this reason is not directly related to being on the team, some of us on the team are also equine science minors or equine interdisciplinary majors. A big part of these studies is figuring out what type of equine business we want to own/work for.

Another is that while it gave Meredith the chance to get another lesson in, it gave the rest of us a chance to observe her ride and learn from what she did. When we ride in class we are all having to worry about what we are doing on our horse and don't very often have the chance to see each other ride. For me personally, it helps me to see an example of what I need to do or need not do. Having us there also made it possible for Meredith to have her lesson recorded so that she can go back and watch herself ride.

A third reason is that it allowed us to experience a lesson with a different instructor. Even though not all of us were riding, we still got to hear the instruction and the explanation of what and how something should be done. It is always good to have a variety of instruction, because regardless of how good an instructor is, someone else is always likely to see something different and have a slightly different style of teaching that could help you.