United States Eventing Association

Many eventers feel like they have to make a choice upon graduating high school: take time off to be a working student and pursue their love of the sport, or press pause on their eventing goals to further their education. But University of Louisville (Kentucky) student Ruth Rosendaul has found a way to do both as she pursues her business degree online and grooms for five-star eventer Hannah Sue Hollberg and her husband, show jumper Matt Hollberg, full-time. ​

“I did one semester in person,” said Rosendaul, who grew up in Louisville and could commute to campus. “But after having worked for Hannah Sue and Matt for a summer, I got to thinking about maybe if I could spend the winter season with them in Florida. So I talked to my counselors, and they were in full support and got me set up online to just feel it out, but I quickly realized that I really liked being able to fully indulge in the horses and be able to do school as well.” ​

Just because Rosendaul makes it look easy does not mean that is the case, however. She has learned how to balance her schedule throughout the week to make the most of her time, and the Hollbergs have been very supportive of her academics. ​

“The hours are long,” she noted, “but I am still able to be a good student and a good groom for Hannah Sue and Matt. I usually work a full day up until around 5:00 in the afternoon and then go home and pull my laptop out and do as much as I can before going back to the barn for blanketing and night check. And I get as much done as I can on my day off each week, too.” ​

And it doesn’t hurt that her professors have been supportive of all of her endeavors in and out of the saddle. ​

“The professors are really understanding at U of L—they all understand the equine stuff, which has been really nice for me. When we went to Burghley, actually, the time difference made it a little bit difficult, but they were really understanding of the fact that I was at a big event in England.” ​

While she was on campus, Terri Burch, the Equine Industry Coordinator at the University of Louisville, connected Rosendaul with the Intercollegiate Eventing Team at Louisville, and she was able to join and stay on, even now as a virtual student. ​

“That's when I started to create more friends, I feel like,” she reflected. “It’s really awesome, because most of those friends do come to Florida, so the team created a community for me, even though I am online. I can see them at shows and when they travel down here.” ​

She loves the sense of camaraderie that being on an Intercollegiate team has provided her. ​

“It is just so much fun,” said Rosendaul. “Usually I just have my mom cheering for me at horse shows, which I am so appreciative of, and it means the world to me that she is always traveling to be there for me, but with the team, you often get a whole team at a jump or two cheering for you.”

When she was on campus, Rosendaul participated in a lot of team activities and volunteer projects, but even now as a remote student, she loves getting to meet up with her teammates during the winter circuit.

​“We're all still friends, and we'll go to events and see one another. Most of them are still in Kentucky, but we're still connected through the team, which is nice," she said.

​In the Hollberg’s program, Rosendaul has gotten to work in both the upper-level eventing and show jumping spaces, helping her obtain a lot of experience that she can then apply to her own riding and horsemanship skills. But she feels it is the overall atmosphere that the Hollberg’s create for their team and the horses that has had a lasting impact.

​“They're great people, and honestly, there's no other people I'd rather be with,” she stated. “They are so uplifting, and they really love their horses, and they really do their best for all the horses. That's something that is really important to me. I feel like you don’t often see people who are this in tune and connected and want the best for not only their horses, but they put the same effort into our horses here, as well.”​

She noted that Hannah Sue’s ongoing work with equestrian sports psychology coach Natalie Hummel has also had a huge influence on her riding and mentality around the sport. ​

“That's been a really big thing for me and a few of my co-workers,” she said. “Having the ability to develop that right mindset in this sport is extremely important. I think for me, you can’t ride well if you’re in your head thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Hannah and Matt are both really good at bringing the positive and making sure that you're in a happy place in your riding and in your work. If there's ever a problem or if you're worried about something, they’re very approachable people, which is definitely a big thing that has kept me here so long.”​

That environment has been hugely influential in Rosendaul’s ability to balance her roles as a student and groom as she travels with the Hollbergs to international and national events all over the globe. She is eternally grateful for all that the Hollbergs have done to help her remain dedicated to her studies as much as she is dedicated to her work and riding.

“They’re horse riders, but they're also people, and they want what's best for you.”​

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. Many events across the country offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually or in 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. The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship is a capstone event for the program, which is held annually in the spring. The 2026 USEA Intercollegiate & IEL Championships will be held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, on May 15-17. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, PulseVet, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, World Equestrian Brands and Young Rider Magazine for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.