Erin, Equine Management Level 3

Meet Erin, Equine Management Level 3 Student. Erin joined Merrist Wood College straight after secondary school to focus on her passion.

Can you tell us about yourself, and how you decided to study Equine Management at Merrist Wood?

I only got into Equine a couple years ago! I never really thought of it before. I was always into dancing and acting. And then for D of E, I did volunteering at my friend’s yard and just fell in love with it, now my whole life has completely changed.

I live locally and I found out about the college when I was in secondary school. I didn’t really want to go super far away from home so I decided to come here.

When I was doing GCSE’s, I was thinking about staying at sixth form but I just didn’t have an interest in anything else at my school. So I decided to go with horses because that’s what I was inspired by and what I was going to work hard to do.

What’s your experience been like at Merrist Wood so far?

Everyone is so nice and friendly. It’s not a very big crowd so it’s not overwhelming.

I look forward to the riding lessons a lot because I don’t have the time or money to ride outside of college.

You get a fair amount of attention from all the staff and they remember each person. The whole dynamic is just really friendly, you can have a laugh with them. They push you but they don’t push you too much.

If the staff can tell you’re physically tired, they’ll let you take breaks. They’re here for you to learn and be comfortable. The course is good for any person – whether you did amazing in your GCSE’s or not, or whether you’re good at socialising or not.

How would you describe your practical work?

We do quite a variety. From riding to learning about all the different types of tack to learning about the mobility of the horse. You learn about every little factor which helps you decide which one you want to further in if you carry on to do higher education.

I’m particularly interested in the rehabilitation of horses and nutrition.

How does your course help you with future job opportunities?

As a college they have a lot of connections. So, if you want to do work experience and you can’t find anywhere, they can suggest places to work through. You can easily ask questions about jobs.

I’ve done some work experience in my local yard already. In the future I’m hoping to do more maybe in a yard further away from home. One of the requirements of my course is to get 150 hours of work experience in the first year.

In the future, I want to work in something to do with horses. I want to have a steady income but I also don’t want to be stressed about money or work 24/7!

What do you think about the facilities?

It’s really good because the stables are all indoors. When it’s a rainy bad day, you’re indoors and you’re protected from the wind. We also have the ventilation on when it’s hot.

All the horses are so close and see each other a lot so they get along well with each other. We have a good variety of horses and we also have a fantastic arena for riding.

What advice would you give to students who are thinking of applying?

Definitely have a look at the college because it’s quite different to normal colleges, I think it’s a lot less stressful and it’s genuinely a really nice and friendly place to be.