United States Eventing Association

When students arrive at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, they're joining more than just a USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Team. They're stepping into a community that begins welcoming riders before classes even start and continues supporting them long after graduation.

That sense of belonging has become one of the defining characteristics of the Randolph-Macon (RMC) Eventing Team, which has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable programs in the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing community.

"It's bittersweet leaving," said graduating senior and former team president Ariana Schmit-Chow "This team is really special because we're all so close, and the program is so intertwined with our school that we get so much support from the faculty and staff."

Built-In Community From Day One

For many incoming freshmen, especially those traveling far from home, college can feel overwhelming. Randolph-Macon has intentionally built traditions that help ease that transition.

Each August, members of the eventing team move onto campus about a week before the rest of the student body for a team-building orientation week. Before classes even begin, new students already know their teammates, have formed friendships, and have a support system in place.

"It takes the pressure off so much as an incoming freshman," Schmit-Chow explained. "The girls come in, and they immediately have a support group and friends."

That support extends well beyond the barn. Team members regularly help one another navigate academics, sharing advice on professors, study strategies, and class schedules through group chats that include students from nearly every major on campus.

The professors are extremely accomodating of members of the team, as well, often helping rearrange assignments and tests to accomodate if a team member has a competition that conflicts with the academic schedule.

Horses Are Part of Campus Life

Unlike many collegiate eventing teams whose members board horses at multiple facilities, Randolph-Macon operates from a school-owned barn just minutes from campus.

The college employs the barn staff, while students board their horses and take lessons through the school, creating one centralized home for the program. Team meetings, lessons, practices, and plenty of everyday moments happen in one place, helping strengthen the team's close-knit atmosphere.

"It's incredibly unified," Schmit-Chow said of the setup. "All of us are at one barn, with the exception of a few local people who wanted to stay at their own barn."

That unity has helped fuel remarkable growth. During Schmit-Chow's four years at Randolph-Macon, the eventing team expanded from roughly 15-20 members to around 30 riders, while the college's hunter program also grew to more than 30 students. Together, the equestrian programs now include more than 60 riders.

While some members compete at the upper levels of eventing, others arrive having little or no eventing experience. Schmit-Chow says the older students and coaches enjoy helping newer riders learn the sport.

"It's been a really great experience for people doing the upper levels like me, but also for the younger girls," she said. "We've had a couple come in with really nice horses that had never formally evented before, and we get them all the way through Starter, Beginner Novice, and Novice, and they just have such an amazing time."

Recruiting the Next Generation

Randolph-Macon's commitment to growing its program doesn't stop with current students.

One of the college's newest initiatives is a week-long summer equestrian camp designed to introduce middle and high school riders to collegiate equestrian life. Much like other collegiate athletic camps, participants stay in the campus dormitories while bringing their own event horses or riding school horses provided through the hunter program, depending on which discipline they focus on.

The goal is simple: allow prospective students to experience what life at Randolph-Macon is really like before they ever submit an application. Schmit-Chow, who was recruited herself to RMC by former athletic director Dana Lesesne, who hunted her down at the Virginia Horse Center to tell her about the college, says this camp serves as their newest recruiting strategy.

Even though her time on the team is up after four years, she will always be grateful for her time competing on the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Team at RMC.

“I think that this team is really special because we're all so close, and the program is so intertwined with our school that we get so much support from the faculty and staff," she said.

For students searching for a college where horses remain a central part of everyday life, Randolph-Macon has worked hard to create exactly that: not just an eventing team, but a place riders can truly call home.

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 2027 USEA Intercollegiate & IEL Championships will be held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, May 7-9. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Gallagher’s Water, Kerrits, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, Aiken Saddlery, AllStar Tents & Events, Horse & Country, Meybohm Realtors – Deirdre Stoker Vaillancourt, Powell Asset Protection Agency, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, Wendel Mobile Equine, WeRideTogether, World Equestrian Brands, Young Rider Magazine, and 100xEquine for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.