Is it just me, or is it almost impossible to balance riding, school, and sports? Maybe I'm just really bad at time management, but I haven't ridden in months since field hockey and school started. How do all of you have time with your extra-curriculars. Have any of you had to give up one or the other?
I'm just trying to get some insight here, becuase I miss riding so much! But with all of this other stuff going on it seems impossible!

It's hard, but for me regular school work comes first and riding comes second.

I'm on the same boat as you, I play field hockey, and it started August 13th. Since then I've only been able to ride on the weekends, or days off and half days. Luckily there have been a few half days/days off so I have ridden more than I expected to. Sometimes (actually only 2-3 times at the beginning of the school year) I would go up after practice, but I wouldn't make it home until 7 30 or 8 and I was dead tired by then. We decided to put James on full training/treadmill where basically he gets a training ride and the treadmill whenever he doesnt get schooled, and I usually lesson saturday and/or sunday. Field Hockey ends oct. 20 so I actually get to ride more than 2x a week! .

I don't have sports as an extracurricular, but I work 25 hours a week, have a full time 4th year University schedule, and ride. My horse is not in training, so it's up to me to exercise/school him. I pretty much ride when I can, but I make sure to ride at least 3 times a week. It's hard, and I often have to make sacrifices in my social life to ride as much as I'd like, and schoolwork keeps me up. Luckily my boyfriend likes coming to the barn! haha...but honestly..it's tough. School is my priority, then riding..after that, it's whatever I commit to first!

I don't do any extracurricular activities. I get out of school early (1:50) and go straight to the barn my horses are at to ride. Then I go straight to work and don't get home until about 8. I sometimes have to get up really early in the morning to study because I'm just too tired at night.

It's hard to do. I didn't play any sports in high school(besides a bit of track until i f-ed my knee up) because my afternoons and weekends were spent at the barn...there is always a live animal at the barn there to be ridden and cared for. Having a boyfriend always makes it worse too..more time to split up. It's hard putting down nothing for sports and stuff in high school on applications, then just having equestrian stuff on there. Riding pretty much turns into your life outside of school in high school.

I played 4 sports + riding (but didnt own a horse) till 10th grade. I then desided riding and work and school deserved all of my time. Yeah, it sucked to miss parties and stuff, but after awhile I learned to ride with a killer hangover...im not even kidding. Last year sucked though, I had a full college load with LATE classes, worked the days I had off and had to fit riding in when ever I could. Plus, I was super sick all year last year and had operations and medical tests and crap. My trainer saw how stressed out it was making me and let me be her working student. That let me put riding and work into one. Im still doing that this year and school has kind of taken a back burner, since this is my last semester at college. That said, I am about to start a big job that should allow me to still ride alot, but not enough time to keep my greenbean. Lucky for me, my boyfriend comes to the barn and works for my trainer at shows

I did it when i was in high school. I would get out of school at 3, have either field hockey practice or cheerleading till 5:30 then go out to the barn to ride. somedays i would not get home till 8 or 9 at night and still have to shower, eat dinner, and do homeowrk. It was hard but if you try to put yourself on a schedual it is not as bad. i woul tell my self... "ok i will get to the barn at 6... i will leave at 7:45. that was i can get home and have more time to do work." If all three things (school, riding, and your other sport) then you shouldfigure out how to put all three into your day. it reallly is all about time managment!!! GOOD LUCK!

I don't have any extracurricular sports/activities anymore. I used to dance, but I don't have any time for it anymore, and even with just riding, I have to get a lot of my homework done during the day to make it feasible. Time management is your best friend!

I had to quite sports and dance way back in middle school. It's not fair to ask my parents to spend lots of money on horses and then not ride them for a season, and it's certainly not fair to my horses. Riding is what I enjoy most, so I don't regret the decision. My priorities generally go school, riding, extracurrics (clubs/community service), then social life. Even with just riding and all my homework I'd be busy!

It helps for me to sit down with a calendar at the beginning of each week and write down my school schedule, riding schedule, other commitments, etc, so that I know how much time I'll have for studying and seeing friends. That way I know what I'm working with and there aren't any surprises. Thankfully it's senior year (so I get out at 1PM daily) and I can usually ride both horses each day.

Thanks for all the replies! It's really stressful, I not only have games and practices on weekends, but my coach has basically put me on a club team that practices on weekends, so I'm twice as booked as I was when I started. I know that I love riding more, but I'm not sure where to draw the line between my passions and my talents. Plus, I'm one of those people, that if I don't get to bed before 12, I'll most likely kill the first person to talk to me in the morning. hahaha.

Also, does anyone feel like their parents will fully support lets say a sport physically, mentally and financially, but when it comes to riding you're "on your own"?

tea cups, yes! God gave me a freaky swimming talent. It was fun, untill my parents pushed me too hard, too fast. (Think 8 year old swimming 5+hours a day, I looked like I was on steriods with the muscles I had) It made me HATE swimming. They would wake up at 4am just to take me to practice and sit there. They would drive all over to meets, buy me new suits caps and goggles weekly. My mom still hasnt let go. My parents dont come to shows, they wont pay for lessons, wont buy me anything horse related (well they did buy me my 1st 2 horses), once in awhile I get lucky and my parents will pay for my classes at shows or the stall. They wont even come to the barn to watch me ride. They had always agreed to help out with the horse bills, as long as im in some sort of school. Now, they have desided out of the blue that they are tired of paying for anything and that they would rather use the money to stop working and lay around all day at our other house (while my dad runs his company into the ground)....you see, this is a bitter subject for me

I am fortunate and my parents fully support me in whatever I choose to do. My dad was REALLY reluctant to buy a horse over 10k, so Simon was a bit of a push. I mean, they support it to a financial extent I guess...was never able to go around doing a ton of horse shows every year or get custom tall boots etc. My mom finally convinced my dad to let me get a new saddle (old one was the devil) and it took a year for him to finally give in. I also worked at the barn jr-sr years of high school to pay off board, so it showed them the committment to my horse. IDK why a lot of parents do not support their kids riding--it's just an expensive taste for sports

Ok, the other day I was super pissed at my parents, so that post was a little dramatic, and didnt give my parents some of the credit they deserve. Yes, they paid for lessons when I was younger, they bought me like 5+saddles with in 2years, they used to pay for shows. They paid for alot, and got me through a bad time with my old horse. I think after Crafty died, it hurt them so much to see how much I was in pain, that they just couldnt bare to go through the whole thing again. Looking back on things, that is when they stoped being supportive, which I cant blame them so harshly for. I am willing to have my heart broken again, but I just wish they would take this risk with me.

I couldn't of imagined owning a horse in highschool. I leased, so I rode twice a week (one lesson, one lease-day) and I found that hard, especially my last year with working. I had band afterschool on Mondays and then working 2-3 days the rest of the week, so I generally rode on Thursdays for my lesson, but I'd have to move things around for work, or band festivals, or if my coach was going away. Then when the girl I worked with went away during spring break I had to work Mon-Fri, which was fine because lessons were in the mornings, but then school came and she was still away (it was a school Europe trip) so I couldn't ride. As well, in June I didn't ride like all month because of grad stuff. Oh, and if I missed lease-days I could make them up... think I could? Nope, too busy, or couldn't get a ride to the barn, etc. When I stopped riding I still had a few I never made up. I'm sure what I went through was nothing really, but it was busy for me, lol.

mmm, well i guess you just have to realize where your priorites lie. horses are my #1, school #2. yeah, i know, parents hate it when i say that but i am still a straight a student. i have no extracurricular school stuff because i am always riding. i guess it just depends on what you want to do. horses are what i want to do and i am always missing school for shows, but still do well in school.

My life= Get up at six, school until 1:40, track until 3:45, riding until 6:30, finish dinner at 7:30, homework and cleaning room until 12:00, sleep for six hours. I'm so unbelievably exhausted I can hardly stand it, and it's really affecting my riding, my eyes are all bloodshot, and only half open most of the time, and in class and riding I have this weird vacant expression on my face. Eventually I think I will figure out what I need to do to not be so tired, but it might take a while.

I've been lucky, and it's just not hard for me.
I get my schoolwork done in school and all I have to do is study at home. My barn is close to my house so I can go to the barn for 3 hours, 7 days a week, and I've never had a problem smushing it all in. I only horseback ride, so it's way easier.

I usually go straight home (finish school at 3.30 - at home by 4.00) do an hours worth of homework by which time its generally 5.15 and Mum's home so I got and bring the horses in, tack up 2, Mum lunges one while I ride the other then I get on the one she's been lunging and she takes the other horse back down to the stables and brings the third horse up and lunges it then we swap again and Mum goes off and makes feed, so usually around 8.00 I've finished riding and do homework while eating dinner then have me time. So basically I couldn't manage without my Mum :D

Unless you suck at riding, there is really no point to worrying about school. Everybody who rides is going to turn pro anyways.

BAYCALYPSO YOUR SIGNATURE IS BIG AND OBNOXIOUS.

hahaha

Its very easy for me to balance...i dont play another sport because i have decided that horses are the best. I wake up at 6. go to school until 2:16, ride the bus to the barn its usally 3:15ish now. Then I saddle up & ride, my mom picks me up at 5:30, i go home eat, shower, & do homework. I finish a lot of my schoolwork in school, & sometimes hold it off untill the morning at school.

baycalypso i love your signature!

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