Guelph Ridgetown is Hosting a Student Information/Recruitment Day for First Year Equine Students Later This Month at the Reach Centre in Clinton

by Bob Montgomery

Samantha Green is the Student Services Coordinator for the First Year Equine Program. She says the Open House will run from 10:00am until 2:00pm on March 28th at the Reach Centre in Clinton. Students who are interested in applying for the program, or have already applied, are invited to drop in, meet some of the staff, meet some of their teaching horses, see some of the off-campus living options that are in the area, see some of the facilities, and ask any questions they may have about the program.

The first-year classes, that are held at the Reach Centre in Clinton, are generally capped at forty to forty-five students. The second year is moved to their facility at the Ridgetown campus. In the first-year program they run about a fifty-fifty split between lecture time and lab time, making it a very hands-on program. Green says their students come from all over for the Equine program. “We have international students who come to join us, we have students who come up from the United States, we've got students who come from all over Canada and then a majority of our students will come from all over Ontario.”

Green says they're very grateful that their landlords in Clinton and throughout Huron County have always been great about helping their students find a place to stay. “There have been a couple of new investors who have purchased some houses or properties that they're renovating just for student housing, so lots of great support in Clinton and in the county.” Green adds that's good for the community too. The students live in the area for eight months so they make a significant contribution to the economy in that time, and they also have friends and family visit them, and those friends and family members go back home and tell their friends about Clinton and Huron County.

They'd be very happy to see anyone who is interested in post-secondary education in the equine field drop in on Thursday March 28th between 10am and 2pm at the Reach Centre, located at 169 Beech Street in Clinton. Green adds, if that date doesn't work, they do have tour dates that can be found on the Ridgetown website.