Berry College Head Coach Margaret Knight (left) posed with Lauren Cannon after the latter was eighth at IHSA Nationals in individual novice flat. The College decided to impose a "Riding Fee" starting Fall 2004 which led Knight to successfully find alternate funding.

FUNDRAISING EFFORT LEADS TO SCHOLARSHIPS AT BERRY COLLEGE

Riders who attend Berry College find the school has a lot to offer. The Rome, Georgia campus sits on 28,000 acres. Students can board their horses on campus. The Gunby Equine Center has 64 stalls, a covered ring with seating for 400 spectators and lots of nearby trails that lead throughout the campus. The IHSA team has routinely been first or second within Zone 5, Region 2 since the mid-1990's.

With all theses amenities one might be surprised to hear that riding is a club sport at Berry. As such, Riders who joined the team in past seasons were asked to pay nominal club dues of $85.00 a year, which covered all riding and lessons. However the powers that be decided to impose a second fee starting Fall 2004. The school added a "Riding Fee" of $150.00 per semester for all riders who join the "Show Team," which is the IHSA Team.

"I knew I would have to find additional funding (to offset the new fees)," says Berry Head Coach Margaret Knight, "So with the support of the barn's Director Judy Wilson and the school's Advancement Office, I went looking for sponsorship." Knight found a sponsor in Heritage GMC, a nearby auto dealership. Owners Al and Mike Barron worked out a sponsorship arrangement in the form of scholarships. "Heritage donated $4,000.00 for 12 scholarships," Says Knight. "Two of them are full scholarships, with an extra hundred dollars each semester."

The Scholarships are not based solely on riding ability, but on other factors such as grades, leadership ability and financial need as well. The Scholarships are available to both incomming students and upperclassmen. Knight wants to emphasize that not all schools offer such benefits.

Though the Berry hunter seat team was eighth in the nation last season, and the stock seat team was eleventh, the vikings are not deep at the moment in the advanced western or english and western open divisions. While Knight is hoping the scholarships will attract riders of all levels in both english and western disciplines, a few riders in the upper divisions would provide immediate help.

(This story was edited for re-posting in 2011 to remove the link to a Berry club website that no longer exists - Editor)

--Steve Maxwell