College Degree Makes Difference

Before joining the staff at Louise Serio's Derbydown Stable, Troy Hendricks was a working student during his college years for hunter trainer Ray Francis and British Olympic show-jumping rider Tim Grubb (now a US citizen); after graduation, he rode for the sales and training barn of top hunter/jumper trainer Ralph Caristo. Here's his perspective on how his decision to include college in his plans has paid off.

College? Who needed it? When I finished high school in the early 1990s, after a successful junior career at local jumper shows, I thought I was hot stuff, ready to make a big splash as a professional rider. I enrolled at classes in a nearby community college to placate my pro-college parents, but riding and teaching remained my chief focus.

Gradually, however, I realized I was going nowhere. I wanted to perform at the level I'd seen from ringside at big shows like Devon or Harrisburg. But I didn't know the steppingstones to get me there.

When a trainer who was leaving the business suggested I take over his barn, I regretfully said no. I wasn't sure I knew enough to do a good job. (Now I'm sure I didn't!) I thought of working for a groom at a top barn to increase my knowledge. But then, in 1993, an ad for the four-year animal-science equine program at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa., caught my attention--and an interview with program director Gerry Gilbert (an 'A' circuit judge and trainer) changed my direction, and my life.

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Adding It Up
So who needed college? I did. I'm exactly where I was hoping I would be at this point in my life when I made the decision to go for an equine degree. And--an unexpected bonus--I find I get an extra edge of respect from customers and other people I deal with when they learn I've been to college.

Am I getting rich? No--though I'm doing better financially than I was right after graduation. Like most people in this business, I have to pay for my own health insurance--but the flip side of that is, I get a nice free house to live in. And I'm happy in what I'm doing, which counts for a lot.

Making it Work
If you're considering an equine-degree program, I have a couple of suggestions to help you get your money's worth.

First, if you've never worked full-time in the part of the horse world that's your goal, give it a try before you go to school. A lot of students in equine programs have owned a horse or have gone to riding camps, but they've never been immersed in the horse world and don't know what the hours and work are like. There are plenty of grooming jobs available in big barns that will give you an idea of what's involved.

Second, before committing to a program, ask for contact information for recent graduates--and I don't just mean one or two superstars. Talking with a range of former students will inform you about how well they feel the program prepared them for what they're doing now and whether they would enroll again.

Finally, once you're there, put as much into it as you can. Set goals for yourself, and be prepared to change and raise them as your learning grows. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude. And be aware going in that when you walk out with that diploma, it's just the beginning. You'll still have to prove yourself in the real world before you can realize your goals.

Excerpted from an article that first appeared in the December 2000 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.