No! The beauty of our program is that you do not need to have your own horse for lessons OR shows. Synergy provides us with a great team of 6 horses to practice. At the shows, hosting schools and private owners provide their own horses.

We ride at Synergy Farm in Kemptville, just outside of Ottawa. This is a grand prix barn owned by our coaches Lauren Hunkin and Mark Struthers. It is about a 30-60 minute drive from school, depending on traffic.

Depending on whether you want to ride on the recreational team, or one of our two competitive teams, and depending on how many shows you go to, the price will range from $430 ($380 for 6 lessons + $50 membership fee) to approximately $1000 per semester. If you buy new equipment, that will be an additional cost. We are all students, and we know how expensive it can be. We will try our best to offset some of these costs through fundraising, so please be an active participant in all of our fundraising events because they only benefit you!

Ideally, we would like team members to ride at least once a week, but you can ride more or less often to accommodate your schedule. So basically, it's up to you! As long as you go to your 6 lessons per semester, there is a lot of flexibility.

You should have your own riding apparel, but if you don't then inform us and we will try to find you something to borrow! It is likely that teammates will be able to lend you or even sell you their own equipment. Things you should own are boots and a helmet, because it is important for your own comfort and safety that those fit you right!

As for tack, do not worry about that. We have you covered.

Absolutely not. We realize that everyone has a different schedule, and being a student can require a lot of juggling. We want you to put your studies first, so you can enjoy yourself at the shows you can go to! They are a ton of fun though, so it is highly recommended that you go to as many as you can for your own sake!

We try to make it as convenient as possible for our members, so we arrange carpools for all the lessons. The lesson coordinator is responsible for organizing lessons and carpools to those lessons, while each show coordinator is responsible for arranging transportation to IHSA and OUEA shows. For shows, we usually end up renting cars if not enough people can drive.

NOT AT ALL! I will repeat this: It is not a problem whatsoever! In fact, we are always the most excited when we get beginners, because at the moment we do not have many so we are not representing ourselves as strongly as we could at shows! That, and it is always nice to see someone become interested in the sport we love! If you're unsure, send us an email and come watch a lesson or a show!

You will not be able to participate in the show circuits unless you have ridden with us before, in which case you may ride as an Alumnus. You may be able to join our recreational team however! Send us an email if you are interested.

Tryouts happen at the beginning of each semester. Don't be nervous though, because we want to recruit as many people as physically possible! Basically we use that time to evaluate what level you will be riding at on the team, so just go out there, do your best, but HAVE FUN!