Equine Summer Study Abroad Programs in Scotland

The teachers of the courses were absolutely wonderful and knowledgeable, and the classes were open, relaxed, and included a balance of lecture, discussion, and hands-on application. Additionally, the classes involved some great field trip opportunities.

The riding facilities are top-notch, and the grounds of the campus are beautiful. However, the college is very isolated, especially with all of the other students being gone for the summer. Any fun social activities require some exploring and often hefty cab fares.

This program is wonderful, but misleading. The campus is clean and safe but truly in the middle of nowhere, prepare to feel very isolated. You must really love horses to enjoy this trip or you will not get much out of this program.

Overall I have a very fun time in Scotland at the Equine Summer Program. The people I met were amazing and will be lifelong friends! Our day started out typically with class after breakfast and either another class after lunch or riding depending on the day. On some nights and every weekend we had excursions that were very interesting and fun. The horses were very fun and I enjoyed getting to ride as many as possible. There was a bit of confusion or miscommunication with the college staff the first few weeks such as planned times being wrong, being further from the city than expected, and not following our itinerary but it ultimately didn't ruin the experience. I really enjoyed my time here in Scotland.

The experience was good, it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone. However sometimes it was challenging. The food is okay, and some of the staff are helpful, and some are not. Sometimes there was a lack of communication that it was hard to know what we were doing until the day of or right before. Otherwise this was a good experience, the weekend trips were fun and a new experience.

Overall, this has been a fun and worth while experience. The campus is small and easily navigated, the stables are right on campus, and the scenery is beautiful. The classes are well taught and manageable in conjunction with sight seeing and nights out. Communication was a big issue, though, as few of us had access to a phone that called in country and there weren't any readily available on campus. Communication between staff was difficult, as well. Accommodations and food are typical college dorm style: Adequate. There were also many logistical hiccups during the month here, but they were ultimately just minor annoyances.

The overall experience here was great. I learned a lot throughout the classes in the short time we were here and also about Scotland through the visit. The girls here all bonded instantly and during our stay, it will be hard to leave. There were only a few things that were not what I expected. The riding was great but I was under the impression that we would be able to jump more but that only happened at the third week, once a week. Also for the weekend visits to the different towns, a lot of us wanted to stay just a couple hours later and had to get a taxi. A suggestion for a trip would be to organize a trail ride for the group. A few of us went to Exmoor Pony Rides in Glen-Devon and had a blast! It would be great if this was incorporated into the program for future students.

If you love horses then this is a really great experience! The overall program was great and I had a lot of fun. The classes weren't difficult and the horses we rode were great. We also had tons of cool activities that we got to go do. There were little problems that occurred during the trip that made things a little difficult. I don't think any of us realized that we would be so out of the way of Edinburgh so it was hard for us to go into the city as much as we wanted. While all of our teachers were amazing, some of the staff was lacking in communication with each other.

This was a very fun program! We got to tour all over Scotland on our scheduled tours and were able to explore the cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, on our days there. We were even able to visit Loch Ness and drive all though the highlands! Each day of the week was comprised of a combination of classes and riding, the classes were informative, but not too challenging, and we all got attached to our favourite horses! The riding was adjusted to each of our abilities, and no one felt left out or pushed beyond their abilities. All the teachers and instructors were absolutely wonderful and wanted to help us not only in class, but gave us plenty of advice for getting around when we explored the cities. There were some organizational and communication problems between Adelante and SRUC which hindered some activities, but after a couple days most problems were resolved. The college also has a lot of supervision, a plus for worried parents and a, well its something, for the students.