Equestrian Blog

   In this blog I am going to try to answer one of the questions that I am most frequently asked concerning Life as a Judson Girl. The question is "what do Judson students do for fun on weekends and in their spare time?" This question is so popular because as I am sure many of you have noticed, either from reading about Judson, visiting Judson, or attending Judson, that it is located in what most people consider a very small town in the middle of no-where. For this reason most people assume that it is a boring place to be with nothing to do. So if you will give me just a minuet I will try to clear up this misconception.

What Judson Students do for fun on the weekends and in their spare time...

•  Sleep -- ok, doesn't sound like much fun, but with the busy schedules most of us keep we don't get much during the week.

   

• Read -- during the week you are so busy with classes, home work, and reading text books, that it feels good just to relax and curl up with a good story.

• Watch movies -- what can go wrong with a movie night. Friends, food, and the newest comedy, you will be laughing for hours even after the credits.

• Day trips to Tuscaloosa -- did someone say bowling, or a movie, maybe some shopping on the side? And it's not like it is that far away, only 45 mins.

• Games -- you haven't laughed until you have played games like Apples To Apples with a group of Judson Girls, trust  me.   

• Sardines -- no not eating fish. It is a game played the opposite way of hide and seek, one person hides and everyone else has to look for them, when you find them you hide with them until everyone is hiding. It is best if played in the dark.

• Make signs -- you are sure to need them soon anyways and this way you won't have to rush and make them when you have a gazillion other things to do. (Only at Judson are college students encouraged to embrace their inner 5 year old and spend time coloring and playing with glitter.)

• Mattress surfing -- ok this one may be a little dangerous and does not occur often, but it has happened and if you get in on it you will have a blast.

• Forced socialization with MMI cadets -- ok so it's not really forced, but there are a couple of times a semester when the two schools plan activities and gatherings that involve the students from both schools. Examples are field days and picnics.

• Playing pool at MMI -- MMI has pool tables and such in their QM , the "hang out" place for cadets on their campus, and it is not uncommon to find some Judson Girls joining in on the fun.

• Trips to town -- who doesn't like to drop by the Dollar General, Freds, or the thrift store (on Saturday mornings) to see what great deals you can score.

• Walk around campus -- walking is not only great exercise, but it also gives you a chance to catch up with your Judson sisters after a busy week of classes and homework.

• Just hang out -- when you are with a great group of friends you can almost always come up with something to do, in fact most of the time we just end up entertaining each other.

We may not be in a large town with lots to do, but we can always find something fun to do.

   So with Welcome Week being over many of you may be wondering what is welcome week at Judson?

    Well Welcome Week at Judson is the first week that freshmen and transfer students are living on campus. This year the week was kicked off by first time Judson students moving in on the afternoon of Sunday August 16th. Even before the new students had a chance to park there was a herd of returning students gathering around the back of the vehicle. This group of returning students like to refer to themselves as L.A.M.P.s (Leading and Mentoring Peers). L.A.M.P.s were there to help with the moving process and to later help the new students to adjust to life at Judson. The herd of L.A.M.P.'s was  a little, ok, a lot intimidating for some of the new arrivals, but when it only took 10 - 20 minuets to move rather then the hour they were expecting, they were thankful for all of the help.

   Now that all the new students are moved in it is time to say goodbye to the family and for the fun to begin. Students met their L.A.M. P., then as a group took part in several fun activities to get to know each other. When all the fun that could be had was had everyone headed to the dorm for group devotion and bed.

   Unfortunately all week couldn't be all fun and games and Monday and Tuesday had to be spent going over the  rules and learning the expectations at Judson. By the time everyone went to bed Tuesday the rest of the upper classmen had returned and everyone was as ready as they were going to get for classes the next day.

   Wednesday and Thursday marked the beginning of classes. The new students were finally getting their first taste of what  college life was really like. Tryouts for the Equestrian team also  took place Wednesday afternoon and we are glad to welcome two new members to the team.

   Friday, L.A.M.P's and many of the new students took part in Marion Matters. Marion Matters is a number of community service projects being performed at the same time. This year we had 15 different groups who reached out to the community in different ways including; reading to 1^st graders, scraping paint and painting at a church, cleaning up the local cemetery, and many other projects. The project that excited me the most was walking two of the horse to a  nearby nursing home and letting residents pet horses and take pictures with them. It is just amazing to me how 30 minuets with a horse can make such a difference in a persons life. This summer I took a class, while at Judson for May block, called Animal Partnership. In that class we took horses to nursing homes twice a week. Even after taking them that many times I was still excited about taking them again during Marion Matters. Marion Matters really is a great way for the students of Judson College to give something to the community.

   Saturday Morning the Freshmen wove the Ivy Chain in preparation for Rose Sunday. That afternoon students attended the picnic at MMI after which the Cadets from MMI attended a Step Sing and reception at Judson.

   Sunday was what is known as Rose Sunday at Judson. All of the students walked to Siloam Baptist Church together led by the Senior Class. Rose Sunday is a deep, beautiful tradition that celebrates the schools rich heritage and the strong bond of sisterhood that can be found there.

   The first full week of classes is done and I don't know of anyone on campus who isn't glad it is the weekend. The first few weeks of school always seem to be the hardest. I guess  it is since everyone is still wishing they had just a little bit left of summer, or that they could be back at school just for the social part of college and skip the whole academic part. That, however, is not possible. So everyone is waking up earlier, way earlier, then they want to be and trying to remember how to solve that Pre-Cal equation they  had in Dr. Price's class last semester, the one they were sure they would never need to know how to do, because apparently you need to know how to do it in Calculus too.  Brains hurt from studying and some people are convinced that they are suffering from such a lack of sleep that they won't wake up for the whole next week.

It isn't just Judson students that are having a hard time getting back into the working mind set though, it is the horses too. It was easy to tell that some of the horses were not very happy to be back to school working. When the time came to walk up to the riding arena for class I felt as though I was going to have to drag my horse all the way there. After taking the horses to the arena and working them for four days, however, it was noticeable that the horses were  beginning to learn the routine and beginning to stop fighting the fact that they were going to have to  work. Just like the horses are settling down for another year of "school", it won't be long until we have learned our routine and everything will settle down for us too. Of course things will still be crazy and busy, we will just have adjusted back to the way of college life at Judson

Hey and welcome to my blog.

            I  have just begun my second year here at Judson College and have had such an enjoyable experience that I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you, not only some of what Judson College has to offer, but also what it is like to be a Judson Girl. I am from Oxford, Alabama where I attended Oxford High School. I will be majoring in Equine Business Management with a minor in Equine Science, which brings me to one of the unique things Judson has to offer as well as  one of the main reasons I chose to attend Judson: The equestrian program.

 I have loved horses for as long as I can remember and at Judson I am  able to take classes that teach about caring for horses, looking after horses, training horses, and I even get to ride. During my freshmen year at Judson I took a riding class each semester and spent most of my spare time at the barn, helping do things like clean tack, bath horses, and even watch other classes. After riding for a year and improving my riding ability I decided to tryout for and be a part of the Judson Equestrian team, which brings me to where I am today, nearing the end of my first week back at Judson and desperately trying to find show clothes before the show season gets under way.

Through my blog you will learn a lot about the equestrian program here at Judson, from what it is like to ride on the team to what riding classes are like, what it is like to be taking an  equine related major or minor and you may even get to meet some of the horses. However, you will also learn about many other important aspects of the Judson experience.

Hope to see you again

*Corey*