92 SIDELINES JUNE 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Education – Cazenovia College
By April Leonard
“What do you want to do with your life?” That’s a big question;
one which I quickly got sick of hearing during my senior year of
high school. Although I didn’t know the exact answer, I knew that
I could not imagine my life without horses. I started researching
colleges in my home state of New York to see what kind of equine-
related programs they offered. Cazenovia College in the small
town of Cazenovia, New York ended up being the perfect ft.
To me, the main difference between Cazenovia College and
the other colleges I looked into is that “Caz” ties equine studies in
with business management studies. The equine degree offered
is a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Management with a
specialization in Equine Business Management. This will be
useful for pursuing a job that is equine related, business related
or a mixture of both. Another factor that infuenced my decision to
attend Cazenovia College was the chance to be on the school’s
riding team.
Cazenovia’s equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate
Horse Show Association (IHSA) and competes in the disciplines
of Hunter Seat, Western and Dressage. Many team members
compete in more than one of these disciplines. Team members
and equine students also enroll in one of the following biweekly
lessons: western, hunter seat (includes jumping and fatting),
reining, or driving with Cazenovia’s team of miniature horses.
Cazenovia College is a small school, with approximately 1,000
students and an average class size of 16. This makes it easy to
get to know professors and peers. My fellow equine business
management students and I have spent countless hours together
learning equine anatomy in a lab, creating business plans in the
library, and squeezing a twelfth chair around a lunch table that is
packed with students in breeches and tall boots. Our professors
know us individually, and are accustomed to students coming
to their offces for advice. Thanks to this close-knit community,
I haven’t spent a day of my four years at Caz feeling homesick.
Although it is a small school, the opportunities to have new
experiences seem boundless. I grew up taking western riding
lessons, trail riding and participating in 4-H horse programs. I
anticipated continuing with western riding lessons and taking
only equine and business classes during my time at Cazenovia.
Due to the variety of options I was presented with, I ended up
taking western lessons, riding hunter seat
for two years, minoring in International
Studies and studying abroad with a group
of Cazenovia students for a semester.
I’ve learned a lot at this college, and
one of the things I learned most about
was myself. As a college senior, I’m once
more hearing a lot of the “What do you
want to do with your life?” question. This
time, though, I am aware of many more
possibilities, interests, and strengths
that I have than when I frst arrived on
Cazenovia’s campus.
About the writer: April Leonard is a senior at
Cazenovia College, where she studies equine
business management. She hopes to pursue a career
in equine publishing after graduation.
“Caz” College is a Close-Knit Community
April with Owen,
the project horse
she is assigned
to help take care
of and spend time
with while at Caz.
Photo courtesy of
April Leonard
The Cazenovia College Equine Education Center,
which includes the barns, an indoor and outdoor
arena, classrooms, and more.
Photo by Melissa Ferrucci
With the help of a living model, the Equine Anatomy and Physiology class learns about
the muscles of a horse (and practices their artistic skills, too!)
Photo courtesy of Allysa Curtis