Equestrian Blog

 I don't remember if I have ever written much about being a member of the Art Club here at Judson College, but it is one of my many extracurricular activities. This is my second year as an Art Club member and I was actually elected to serve as the treasurer for this year.

I have always had a love for art, or I guess more accurately, being creative, so I was really excited when theArt Club became more active on campus last year. It has been a great experience, having exposure to different types of art and techniques, getting to know and hang out with some really awesome Judson Girls that I probably wouldn't have known very well otherwise, and having the opportunity to serve Judson College through the club.

Some of the things we have gotten to do on campus for the school are: print t-shirts for other clubs and organizations, and make prints with prospective students during events like preview days and scholarship days. We also have a number of other opportunities coming up in the future. Unfortunately, I don'tremember what they all are. One of them that I do remember though is the upcoming scholarship day on February 19! Rather then making screen prints with the prospective students like we have in the past, we are planning on demonstrating another type of art that is created by the students here at Judson. Exactly what we are going to do is a secret, to only be reveled on scholarship day. So, if you are not already signed up,  you should consider visiting our gorgeous campus and checking out not only what the Art Club has to offer, but what the other clubs and the rest of the school has to offer to the students of Judson College.

Like I have said, the Art Club is pretty active here on campus, but we have started something this semester to help us be more active in our community...

One of the new areas of study offered here at Judson is graphic design, and it is something that a number of us, including myself, are involved in. So, the project that we have undertaken is to develop and maintain a website that promotes the city of marion and the businesses that are located here. The website will be a central hub, so to speak, that provides viewers with core information about our community, what it has to offer, and what is currently going on. Our goal for this website is to attract interest and business to this area.

The website is still under construction, but it is live so you should stop by and check it out at www.marionmatters.com . And don't forget to keep checking back to see the progress!

 At the beginning of this year, the Judson College Equine Studies Department got to move into their new facility. The facility includes a 30- stall barn complete with 2 tack rooms, an office, a restroom and laundry facility, feedroom and wash rack.The barn is conveniently attached to our covered arena and there is an outdoor dressage ring and round pen also on site. 

 I know this is a little late coming, but I have finally gotten some pictures, so if you will, please join me on the first part of the Equine Studies Facility Photo Tour. 

 Our horses enjoy the weekends off and can often be found relaxing in pasture. Don't be alarmed if you see one or two of them lying down flat on their side, they are fine. They just like to sleep in the warm sun. 

This is one of the two hallways in our new barn , the other is almost identical and is located on the other side of the stalls on the left of the photo.

This is a a view of the outside of our barn. 

Our outdoor dressage ring - it is also used by the hunt seat team to practice going over fences. 

The gating system to our pasture.When the double gates are open it provides a closed-off walk way for the horses to get from the pasture to the barn. 

 This is an example of one of our stalls. They are large and roomy, a comfortable place for our horses to spend the day when they are not being ridden. 

That concludes the first part of our tour. I thank you for joining me and I hope you will return for the second portion, during which we will look at the tack room, office and other features of this fantastic  facility. 

With the semester under way, the Judson College Equestrian Team is getting ready for the up-coming shows.There are only a couple of shows left in this season to qualify for regionals, so everyone is really trying to step it up and get those last few points. As part of getting ready for shows, our coach, Mrs. Jennifer, usually tries to have at least one clinician a year come in to work with us. This gives us the chance to work with someone different and hear another instructors perspective and opinion about our riding. This year, instead of having someone come to Judson to work with us, we are going to go to Auburn University and work with the coach of the Auburn University Equestrian Team and ride with their team members.

This is going to be an amazing experience for us to not only have instruction from a very talented coach and trainer, but also to work with the members of an NCAA equestrian team. And, because we are going to Auburn to ride, we will get to ride their horses. Having the opportunity to ride horses that we are not used to is always good, since we are an IHSA team that has to compete on strange horses that we have never ridden before. The more horses we ride outside of the show ring the more experience we have with different types of horse and different personalities of horses.

When Mrs. Jennifer announced that we were going to do this the first day of classes, we were all excited,but nervous at the same time. Some of us are a little worried about being up to “speed” by February 1^st. This being said, we are all working our hardest during and outside of class to build our endurance and stamina. This includes riding a little longer during class and adding some additional workouts to our schedule. Today during class we decided that we were going to try to have a class yoga session on Tuesday nights to work on our flexibility and balance. We are also preparing by making the best of our time in class, like this past Tuesday when it was too cold to ride. We did an exercise where one person held a bit in her hands, close to her mouth, and was blindfolded while a second person held the reins attached to the bit the first person was holding and then guided them through a set of cones in the barn hallway, as if the blindfolded person was a horse and the second person was the rider. This exercise made us more aware of the importance of giving our horse clear guidance and cues.  

Ah....Christmas has come and gone, along with the break, and everyone is back to Judson and getting settled in. Classes began at the end of last week so everyone is ready to get into the routine of everything this week or, we were...

The weather had other plans though and because of possible snow and the likelyhood of ice, classes were canceled for today, so we got an extra day to make sure we were really read for the semester and to catch up with friends before everyone got extra busy with schoolwork. It seems to have almost become a new tradition, getting out of classes at least one day during the first week back to school after Christmas Break. Last year classes were canceled our first Friday and Monday back because of weather.

I am ready for the semester to really begin, though. I am excited about my classes and for the first time since my arrival at Judson as a freshmen, I don't have an 8 a.m. class. In fact, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't have to be anywhere until 11 a.m. I guess I should be smart, though and use those mornings off to get some work done rather then sleeping in like I want to.

Other times, my schedule this semester is similar to last semester. I have two business classes,two web classes, two required “core” classes, and then, of course, my team riding class. I think I am looking forward to my java scripting class the most - what can I say, I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to computer stuff, I mean it is just so interesting. I decidedthe class that I am least looking forward to, is Research Comp, a required class where you take a semester to write a paper. I understand the importance of the class, I just don't like writing papers.

It should be a fun semester! Check back to see how it goes.