August 18, 2004
Sheffer horses around at school
Traverse City resident attends Albion College with her show horse Cliff
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Embarking on her next phase of life, Sarah Sheffer heads to Albion College Friday.
Unlike the typical college packing list, Sheffer's inventory will also include currycombs, peppermints and tack. The veteran of many horse shows will need these items because in a few weeks time, her 13-year-old thoroughbred show horse, Cliff, will be joining her at school. And Cliff loves peppermints.
Cliff will be one of the first residents at Albion's new 30-stall, state-of-the-art barn: the Nancy G. Held Equestrian Center. Sheffer will be one of the school's ten students bringing their horses this fall and participating in the school's Intercollegiate Horse Show Association equestrian team.
"I'm thrilled that I get to be a part of this, to go in there and be able to bring my horse, to ride in the team, to train with their trainer," said Sheffer, a 2003 homeschool graduate who will study biology and plans a career in medicine or veterinary medicine.
"It's going to be one of the top facilities in the country, I think it will bring in a lot of the top students from around the country, not just from Michigan," she noted.
Her pre-college jitters also have a different flavor to them. Sheffer is not too concerned about adapting to life hundreds of miles from home with a new roommate in a tiny apartment, or about her studies or making friends. She's worried about Cliff.
"It is very strenuous to move horses," Sheffer noted. "When I moved my horse to my house, he dropped weight. He's a very athletic horse, very energetic, which his what I want for my sport, but I'm a little concerned about moving him."
The Nancy G. Held Equestrian Center, which is nearing completion, is situated on 350 acres of college grounds. With extensive facilities for riders, vets and farriers, it is only the second on-campus equestrian facility in the nation.
The equestrian team at Albion is a club-level sport that students founded in 2001. The team competes against other schools including Michigan State, University of Michigan and the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, the region's team-to-beat.
Sheffer, who has been showing horses on the hunter/jumper circuit for nine years, spent the summer learning the ins and outs of collegiate competitions. Participants in these meets ride the host school's mounts, use that horse's tack and do not have any practice runs on the course or with the horse. They simply get on the horse assigned to them, have their stirrups adjusted and start the course.
"You have to be able to read the horse really well," said Sheffer. "To get right on a horse and do an entire course is challenging. This summer, I've been on a lot of different horses and just getting a feel of getting on an animal and doing what you have to do in a different class."
Sheffer began riding at seven and began showing horses at nine. She and her family live on 20 acres and have seven horses onsite. She and her mother, Jenny, share the barn chores and Sheffer also worked at Northern Pines Farm in Maple City for years. Sheffer trained with Melissa Hirt, a renowned trainer on the hunter/jumper show circuit.
Sheffer was homeschooled during high school, an academically motivated student who graduated a year early. Just 17 when she graduated, she attended Northwestern Michigan College for a year, earning a 3.9 GPA. She checked out Albion this spring on the recommendation of a family friend who had attended the school. Learning of the equestrian program, she was immediately intrigued.
"I looked at the campus online and sent in my transcript and application," she recalled. "They immediately called me, the day they received my application."
Within a week she had an acceptance letter and a hefty scholarship offer.
"It all just fell into place perfectly," Sheffer said. "I liked that it was a smaller school, coming from homeschool to a large university - I was also accepted at Michigan State - I'd just get lost in all the people."