Jessica Debruler and her teammate are quite a dedicated pair. They practice together between four and five times a week and see each other almost every day.

They both have to stay in to shape in order to compete, and Debruler literally takes the reins in the relationship, caring for her partner and making sure the 1,000-pound competitor stays healthy.

But Debruler’s partner isn’t your normal athlete.

Prince is a horse, and Debruler is a competitive English rider who faces the challenge of going to school while still keeping up with her love of horseback riding.

“I pretty much started riding when I came to college,” said Debruler, a senior in ACES who plans to go to veterinary school. “My freshman year on Quad Day, I found the Illini Equestrian booth and I’ve always loved horses. I was just so excited to finally get the chance to go off on my own and start riding.”

Debruler and Prince participate in two specific English riding events: jumpers, a timed jumping competition, and equitation, where overall form and how a rider handles the horse are judged.

Debruler competes in the Indiana Hunter Jumpers Association, although their competitive shows are not limited to in-state contestants.

“The biggest show of the year is in Kentucky at the Kentucky Horse Park,” Debruler said. “Aside from that, though, most of the shows we go to are in Indiana.”

During her experience with riding, Debruler has also previously ridden with the Illini Equestrians, a team at the University.

According to its website, the team competes against other schools in the Illinois and Indiana region, including Purdue and Taylor universities, and is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.

Debruler said she rarely has to miss class due to competition — especially when she competed with the Illini Equestrians — since the team was centered around college students and the shows were usually on the weekends.

“I have had to miss class for other horse-related activities, though,” she said. “I take my horse to the farrier on Thursdays at the vet school, so sometimes if that runs on I might have to miss class. Or also, earlier this semester, Prince got sick and the only time the vet could come out was when I had lab.”

Although missing class may not be a major issue, horseback riding has definitely affected how Debruler handles her time.

“I used to be a huge procrastinator when it came to schoolwork, but now I’m forced to get work done when I have the time,” she said. “I’m not really sure how I manage to get everything done, but it seems to work out.”

Debruler is also responsible for all of Prince’s health care needs and veterinary costs, as well as cleaning his stall and other basic responsibilities.

“So, in addition to all my studies, I have to come out here,” she said. “He doesn’t understand exams or my other life outside of the barn.”

In addition to her riding and schoolwork, Debruler also works at the barn, located about 20 minutes from campus in St. Joseph, in order to help defray the cost of boarding Prince.

She also volunteers at the University’s Wildlife Medical Clinic, where she has commitments up to five days a week.

“It’s definitely a pretty big time commitment,” Debruler said of the major challenges of riding.

Debruler also used to be involved in other campus activities such as paintball and badminton teams, but has since stopped in order to focus more on her riding.

“It was just too much time and money to throw onto two separate expensive hobbies,” she said.

She also cited the cost of the sport as another major challenge that has affected her social life.

“It does cost money and us college students are all broke as it is,” said Debruler, who added that she doesn’t go out to eat as much as she used to and has tried to cut down on various other costs.

Many collegiate riders seem to have had to cut down on spending, much like Debruler has.

“I definitely don’t buy clothes as much as I want to anymore,” said Tina Briggs, a sophomore in LAS who has been riding since she was seven and competes in the same events as Debruler.

However, the social aspect of the barn is generally positive.

“I have actually made a lot of friends out at the barn so most of my closest friends are also out here everyday,” Debruler said.

“I don’t really feel like I’m lacking too much since I get to see them out here all the time. I’ve gotten to make a lot of new friends and meet really cool people from coming out here,” she said.

The key for many riders is balancing the normal college experience with that of their riding lifestyle.

“I go out with people from here a lot,” Briggs said. “It does have a bit of an effect because we’ll have horse shows and stuff, and you can’t go out the night before a horse show. If you want to go to the barn, it’s hard to ride hungover, even though it happens sometimes.”

But when all is said and done, both girls seem to be willing to sacrifice free time or the ability to procrastinate in order to keep their love of riding and their horses.

“I definitely plan on still riding after graduation,” Debruler said. “I don’t see myself ever selling Prince, even though it will be hard during vet school.”

Briggs agreed, saying that she sometimes has to sacrifice her grades a little bit in order to keep up with her hectic lifestyle.

However, since she wants her job to involve horses, it’s a necessary evil.

It’s fairly safe to say that in the long run, both girls aren’t just simply horsing around.