United States Eventing Association

A Day in the Life with USEA Intercollegiate Member Hannah Warner

Hannah Warner wears many hats: student at the University of Kentucky, UK Eventing Team President, competitor, and head groom for Alexa Ehlers. Fitting in all of her roles and responsibilities into her day-to-day life can be a challenge, but it is a challenge that Warner finds rewarding. The college senior is working towards a business degree through UK's online business program, so Warner is able to get creative with her schedule to pursue all of her academic and eventing related goals.

"Doing both can create some pretty busy days, but thanks to the world’s best boss I am able to get it all done," shared Warner. "Alexa went to nursing school while running a successful training and boarding program, so she is always the first to encourage me to prioritize school work."

Warner is currently on summer break, giving her a bit of a reprieve from school work and allowing her to focus on both Ehlers' horses and her own competitive pursuits with her 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Drombane Dynamite (Harlequin du Carel x Drombane Dilemma). She and the "sassy redheaded gelding," have competed up through the CCI2* level together, and have had two first-place and two second-place finishes this year at the lower-levels and were a member of the third-place team at the 2022 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships representing the UK.

"The UK Eventing Team and USEA Intercollegiate Eventing League have been the best part of my college experience and I am so grateful to have such an involved role in the team," said Warner. Factoring in her role as UK Eventing Team President adds a little more work to her daily agenda, but it is work that she loves and always makes time for. On a typical day during the school semester, this is the schedule that Warner follows to make time for every important activity in her daily life:

6:00 a.m.: Early each morning Warner wakes up, gets her day going, and makes her way to Ehler's home base on her family farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

7:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.: The majority of Warner's work day is spent around the barn grooming and tacking horses for Ehlers.

2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Once she has finished with the last horse of the day, she has time to hop on her own horses for a quick ride.

4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.: She cools down the horses she rode, then wraps up with any barn chores and prepares the barn for the evening.

6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.: Somehow, Warner finds time to fit a workout into her daily routine. Fitness is key for most eventers and Warner is no exception. After a quick shower and dinner, it is time to focus on schoolwork.

9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.: Warner spends her evening watching lectures, working on her homework, or taking her exams. The flexibility of her online program really allows her to schedule her school around her daily routine.

11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.: Before Warner calls it a night, she works on any tasks for the UK Eventing Team such as planning team activities, responding to emails, reaching out to team sponsors, and booking spaces and planning for their upcoming meetings.

12:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m.: Finally, after a long day Warner winds down and prepares to do it all over again the next day!

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country now offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty, and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank this year's USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships Sponsors: Bates Saddles, FITS Riding, Kerrits, Horse & Country, U.S. Equestrian, and World Equestrian Brands.