Scotland Equine 2014

There were a lot of good and frustrating experiences. We got to experience the local culture while the actual students were still on the campus, and attend a Scottish dance where we were able to listen to Scottish music and learn Scottish dances. The horse barn was right next to our dorm and we got to see them minimum once every other day. The trips were very cool and you got to see a lot of the country which is beyond gorgeous. The staff (for the most part) were really really nice and friendly. The teachers were nice, and the classes were interesting. And the food was fairly good for cafeteria style, as well as the rooms were pretty big for dorm style.
The downsides are that communication between people in charge is very lacking, which caused a lot of problems for us and was easily the worst part of this experience. The riding was next, although the last week of riding was really fun and fantastic, the previous 3 weeks were frustrating and a lot more like a summer camp for inexperienced riders. They tell us that the location is close to Edinburgh, but its a good 40minute minimum taxi ride that will cost you a lot of money. You are very much on a rural campus with nothing around you, so if you want to go to a town or city be prepared to pay for the transportation. One of our teachers was amazing, while the other was slightly frustrating even though she still tried to be helpful. I had already had most of these classes so most of the content was just review for me. Also, there is little free time, and we were told we would have Sundays off, which wasn't the case, so a lot of little trips I wanted to make myself weren't able to happen which was a bummer.
Overall I feel like this program has a lot of potential and hopefully with all of our feedback can grow in areas that they are lacking in. And although I'm not sure I would recommend this specific program to someone, I am definitely glad I came and enjoyed my time here.