Harper Adams University student scoops international equine placement

Posted 20 March 2017

Harper Adams University BSc Animal Science student Connie Dale has won an equine placement in America after winning a competition open to UK undergraduate students.

The compeition to win a three month placement at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center (MAREC) is held annually. 

This year, two winners were selected, one of them being Connie.

The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and the Virginia Tech MAREC jointly hold the annual competition which attracts entries from students across the country.

Connie, 21, from North Berwick, Scotland, said: “I’ve always had an interest in horses. I come from an arable farm, and my family keep horses so there’s always been a pony or horse for me to ride. I also went to pony club as I grew-up and enjoyed competing in dressage and eventing.

“However, when it came to choosing a course to study at university I decided to study BSc (Hons) Animal Science as I didn’t want to restrict myself to equine alone so early on.

“I’m really enjoying my course and feel that I made the correct decision.

“I decided to apply for the BEF MAREC Internship after receiving an email from one of my lecturers bringing the competition to my attention.

“I thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity and that I had nothing to lose. To enter we had to choose a topic in the equine sector and submit a 3,000 word essay on it.

“I only had a day to send my essay in, as I was due to go away on holiday the following day and the deadline was tight. However, luckily I was able to repurpose a paper that we had written for our course which helped make the process a bit easier.

“The second stage of the process was an interview. I felt reasonably confident in having an interview because of the experience I’d already gained of them through doing my course at Harper. We have to gain a placement job for our third year which we have to go through an interview process for.

“I feel extremely pleased and thankful to have received the position and can’t wait to join the team in America.

“While out there, I’ll get involved in a wide-range of activities, including: getting involved in research to develop the knowledge of equine nutrition and health; assisting with outreach education programmes; and travel to regional breeding farms and events.”