United States Eventing Association

Yellow Jacket Eventers Swarm to Success at Randolph-Macon College

For Randolph-Macon College, having an eventing team was simply a no-brainer. Located just north of Richmond, Virginia, the college is nestled in a charming town surrounded by horse country and ideally located in the heart of Area II. The team barn is less than 2.5 miles from campus, making balancing a busy course load and keeping your horse competition ready a reality.

Randolph-Macon College Eventing Team.

The Yellow Jacket eventers, eight strong in the team’s second formal year, are comprised of riders from all over the country. Members hail from as far away as New Mexico and as close as Charlottesville. All agree that they chose Randolph-Macon for its outstanding liberal arts education, incredible research and internship opportunities and the ability to continue to seriously pursue their eventing goals as a full-time college student. The team is grateful for the incredible support of the college, which covers costs for entries and coaching at collegiate horse trials.

Team member Katie LaVallee.

A unique offering at RMC is the college’s January term. This one month long “semester” allows students to study abroad, participate in an internship, take a concentrated course on campus, or do something independently. This year many of the team’s riders took the month to head south with their horses to train with some of the country’s top professionals including Jan Byny, Lynn Symansky and Ellie O’Neal. Riders were also able to get a jump on the spring season by competing in Area III events before returning to campus for spring semester.

The team trains together every Friday with their coach, Mimi Combs. The ability to ride regularly with a top professional and to observe others’ lessons has resulted in huge progress for all of RMC’s rider/horse partnerships. It is exciting to witness!

Team member Madlen Lesesne.

Most importantly, the team is an integral part of the greater Randolph-Macon Equestrian Program, which boasts 35 members. The entire team gets together for weekly meetings on campus, performs volunteer work, hosts fundraisers and has weekly team workouts with a trainer.

The team is looking forward to an exciting spring of lessons, cross country schooling at many of the amazing courses close by and representing RMC at Area II events, culminating in the USEA Intercollegiate Championship at The Virginia Horse Trials.

If you would like more information about RMC Eventing, please contact our team captain, Madlen Lesesne at [email protected] and follow us on Facebook and on Instagram @rmcequestrian

All Photos courtesy of the Randolph-Macon College Eventing Team.