Oh, This? Just an Educational Trip… For a Horse Show …
Physics, biology, AND mucking stalls—sounds pretty educational to us! But convincing the school administrators is a different story…
Horse parents know the drill: your kid has to miss school for a show, and the school wants an educational trip request form. Which sounds innocent enough — until you sit down with a pen (or, let’s get real, at the keyboard) and realize you have to explain to the administration why hauling ponies six hours down the interstate to gallop around barrels at warp speed/jump over things/dance in the sandbox/whatever your pleasure is, in fact, a learning experience.
Sure, we all know it’s educational and that our kids are learning lessons they would not learn anywhere else. But selling that to non-equestrian school administrators who are worried about truancy rates can get… interesting.
We definitely manage to come up with some legitimate-sounding answers to the questions that are asked, but here are some of the real thoughts that run through our heads as we try to make “horse show” sound like “trip to the Smithsonian.”
1. “Describe the educational significance of this trip.”
Uh… well… my kid definitely will learn how to survive on concession stand nachos and four hours of sleep. They’ll also master the art of mental math when calculating how much money we don’t have after paying entry fees. Oh, and life skills like mucking stalls, managing stress, and politely pretending to listen to a trainer’s pep talk while secretly crying in the tack room. That’s basically a PhD program, right?
2. “Explain how this trip benefits the student academically.”
Easy. Physics = figuring out stride length to a jump. Biology = wrapping legs, treating scratches, and identifying why someone’s horse looks like it rolled in nuclear waste. Geography = navigating to arenas in towns no one has ever heard of. Math = splitting a tack bill between three horse-crazy teens. English = explaining to the judge, politely, why your horse chose violence today.
Honestly, horse shows should come with college credit.
3. “What will the student miss in class, and how will they make it up?”
They’ll miss algebra. But don’t worry — they’ll practice equations like: If one horse poops 12 times in a weekend, and there are 14 horses in the barn aisle, how many wheelbarrows of manure will the kids shovel before their parents threaten to leave them behind? Answer: Too many.
4. “Parental statement of support.”
Dear school district,
I fully support my child missing a few days of worksheets to learn how to lose with grace, win with humility, and never, ever forget to thank the person holding the horse at the in-gate. Also, this keeps them away from video games and TikTok. You’re welcome.
Educational trip forms may be written with museums and national parks in mind, but every horse parent knows the truth: showing horses teaches more real-life lessons than a textbook ever could. Responsibility, resilience, problem-solving, patience, humility… and yes, maybe a little colorful language when the horse won’t load on the trailer.
So, the next time the school asks what’s “educational” about a horse show, just smile and hand them the form. Because deep down, we know: this lifestyle isn’t just extracurricular — it’s an education all on its own.
