Equestrian is an extremely underrated sport. The average person doesn’t know much about what equestrian entails, myself included…until I got the chance to see a day in the life of Ali Vassiliou who is a member of the Skidmore equestrian team. Although riding horses sounds like a fun way to pass time, the sport of equestrian is one of the most time consuming sports I’ve ever heard of. Here is a day in the life of a practice day for Ali Vassiliou.

8:30-9:30 am 

Wake up and get ready for the day.

10:00 am-12:00 pm 

Ali has an internship this semester at the Tang Museum so on Monday, Wednesday and Friday she’s there working in the mornings from either 10-12 or 9-12. 

Related: College Equestrian: NCEA vs IHSA

12:00pm-12:20pm

Lunch break! Ali isn’t the biggest breakfast person, so lunch is usually her first meal of the day. She tends to eat foods that will keep me full until dinner.

12:40-3:30pm 

Time for class. Ali is taking three classes this semester and they’re back-to-back, except on Monday and Wednesday when she only has one class. Friday’s she has no classes so she works at her internship a little longer before heading to the barn before practice. 

Related: Hungry? 5 Easy and Nutritious Snacks for Busy Athletes

4:00-6:30 pm

Practice. Ali has her horse with her at Skidmore, so she usually has a lesson on him and then team practice right after, therefore, she is very busy grooming (brushing, picking their feet), riding, and taking care of the horses before and after riding.

Some practices are jumping and others are flatting. Flat practices are a little harder since they do no-stirrup work which involves them using just their legs to keep the horse moving while also holding themselves up. Flat practice refers to any type of riding where the horse does not jump. 

Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits

6:30-7:15

Dinner prep! Ali tries to make dinner before her team workout. This way when she gets back, her food is ready for her to eat. 

7:30-8:15 pm

Team Lift or when the team has horse shows, they get to stretch and roll out, but on weeks where they don’t have horse shows, they are down in the gym working out.

8:30-9:00 pm 

Dinner

9:30-11:00 pm

Shower and homework

11:15-11:30pm

Bedtime & decompressing. Ali ends her day by taking time for herself to unwind by listening to calming music before dozing off. 

What’s a day in your life like? Share your Daily Grind at [email protected]

* Originally published on March 15, 2023, by Bella Nevin