RIDING HIGH

WHEN YOU BRING your horse to live at school with you, each day takes on a new dimension. At Geelong Grammar School, Pip Crawford, a Year 12 boarder from Cootamundra, New South Wales, has made this routine part of her school experience since she commenced in 2018.

“On hot days, I go down to the paddock before breakfast to take rugs off, or on colder days I’ll go down at lunchtime or recess. After school I ride until about 5.30 or 6pm.” This year, Pip has two horses at school: Mack, a Thoroughbred she uses for dressage and showjumping, and Spy, a part Warmblood. Last year, Mack was injured, leaving Pip with no horse and too much time on her hands, so Spy has come along to ensure that doesn’t happen again. “Riding and looking after two horses takes a bit longer but it’s worth it,” she says.

Geelong Grammar’s impressive equine facility, the David William Robert Knox Equestrian Centre, incorporates a world-class all-weather indoor arena and outdoor dressage and showjumping arenas. It can accommodate up to 40 horses in its surrounding paddocks. The school’s equestrian coordinator feeds the horses hay twice a day, but students are responsible for rugging, additional feeding, exercising and grooming. Dressage and showjumping competitions take place most weekends, and students can elect to participate in equestrian sports for the entire year.

“Some of my friends do rowing or netball for one of the sport seasons,” explains Pip, who tried netball for a season in Year 7 before deciding to focus on her horses. “I wanted to push myself more and compete at high levels.”

Her hard work has paid off. Pip has represented the school in state interschool competitions, as well as being selected for the national interschool championships, which unfortunately were scuppered by COVID-19. Her most significant achievement to date is qualifying Mack in dressage in the Marcus Oldham Australian Interschool Equestrian Championships for Team Victoria in 2021.

Pip’s mum, Alice Crawford, attributes her success to the school’s equestrian program. “If she couldn’t have her horses at school, she wouldn’t be where she is now. The quality of the instructors that she has had is exceptional. After school, Pip has opportunities to go overseas to ride or work as a groom, which is because of the instruction she has received.”

Students who have their horses on campus don’t all compete; riding can be chosen as an after-school activity rather than a sport. The school offers horsemanship clinics as well. >

Naturally, Alice is proud of her daughter’s achievements, but this outcome was not in mind when the family chose to enrol Pip at Geelong Grammar. “Because the equine centre was there, we thought we’d take the pony along to help her to settle in,” explains Alice.

Both of Pip’s parents attended Geelong Grammar, and this family connection was a motivating factor in choosing the school, but even more important was the school’s coeducational status. “It was definitely important to me to keep Pip and her two brothers together, even though they were sometimes at different campuses. It means they have a shared experience.”

At Geelong Grammar, all Year 9 students spend the entire year at the remote Timbertop campus in the Victorian high country, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2023. “ Timbertop is so important for rural children because they just slot straight in: rural kids look to the horizons, and at Timbertop the horizons are all around them. Both the Corio and Timbertop campuses really provide rural children with space to thrive.”

The Corio campus, home to boarders in Years 7 and 8 and Years 10 to 12, is semirural, situated on 230 hectares on the shores of Corio Bay on the outskirts of Geelong. Most students, almost 900 in total, are boarders. “Because it’s a majority of boarders, it’s brilliant for rural families with the generous support provided by the staff and their families. It’s like a big home that they go to,” says Alice. For many boarders, the Equestrian Centre is a place where they can spend time with their friends, even if they don’t have horses themselves. “When Pip was in Year 7, we found that having her horse at school also helped a lot of the other children who were new, especially rural children, who could go and pat Pip’s horse if they were feeling homesick.”

Pip loves the fact that horses bring people together. “Although you are competing for yourself, everyone who is involved mixes together, regardless of whether you are in Year 7 or Year 12. It’s not like most sports where you mix mainly with your peers.” Meals from the Equestrian Centre’s kitchen are often shared, and on Saturday mornings before sport, the smell of bacon and eggs wafts through the hay.

Much of Pip’s weekend is spent either at the Equestrian Centre or travelling to competitions, so organisation is the key to managing her schoolwork. “It means keeping up with my work during the week and leaving the minimum amount for the weekends.” As part of her Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), Pip is studying Equine Studies through a TAFE online module. Having her horses at school enables Pip to complete practical tasks, which are then assessed at Wangaratta during the school holidays. “I quite enjoy it. It covers the theory of horses, breeding, the different parts of horses, and the thoroughbred industry.”

Though Pip doesn’t yet know which path — or rather, bridleway — she will follow after school, she is confident that Geelong Grammar has set her up for success, personally as well as academically. “It has been a great experience, even though I started in Year 7 not knowing many people. We all get homesick, but because there are so many different people here, you’re more than likely to find someone who has the same interests as you. You’re not left alone. There are activities and sports in which you’re interacting with other people, so you’ll always have someone around who can support you.”

She values especially the lifelong connections she has made, with teachers as well as her peers. “The teachers are not just teachers, but also your head of house, matron or sports coach. You always see them around the place. Most of my friends are from the country but a fair few are Geelong or Melbournebased. I’ve had the opportunity to make friends from other places and learn about their lives as well.”

As Australia’s largest co-educational boarding school, Geelong Grammar School welcomes students from all over the nation. Visit ggs.vic.edu.au, contact the Admissions staff via telephone on (03) 5273 9307 or email admissions@ggs.vic.edu.au to learn more about boarding opportunities for your child, together with their equine friend.