Horseback Riding Students: How You Can Get Credit for High School P.E. Classes

Just because you aren't on the soccer or football team doesn't mean that you have to sit through the P.E. classes at your high school. Many high schools around the country allow students to garner P.E. credit for sports outside the school's extracurricular program, such as for horseback riding. If you spend most of your afternoons at the barn, taking lessons or riding your own horse, you might be able to get credit for high school P.E. classes.

In most cases, a certain number of hours of physical activity is required to get credit for P.E. Taking one horseback riding lesson a week probably won't allow you to qualify, but four afternoons a week is usually sufficient. Your weekend efforts can also count, as long as you are engaging in physical activity, such as riding or mucking stalls or cleaning tack. Horseback riding students don't have to suffer through an hour of P.E. per day if they are getting physical exercise elsewhere.

If you think this might be an option for you, the first step is to talk to your school counselor or assistant principal. Ask about the proper procedure for gaining an exemption from P.E. while garnering credit at the barn, then pick up the necessary paperwork.

You will usually need to have your trainer or instructor sign a form that says you are a student or worker at the barn and you do perform physical activity. Your parents will also need to sign a form that says they approve of your decision. In many cases, your trainer will need to fill out a weekly form that says how many hours you spent at the barn. You might also be given a grade by your instructor, which will appear on your report card.

The rules for getting credit for high school P.E. classes through horseback riding will depend on where you live and the rules in your school system. For example, in the Katy Independent School District in Texas, students are required to participate in some form of competition in order to gain the exemption. This works for my daughter because she goes to horse shows twice a month, but might not apply to other students.

It is important that you fulfill all of the requirements to get your credit for P.E. For example, if your instructor doesn't give you a grade, your privileges can be forfeited and you will be required to take P.E. the following year. In some high schools across the country, only two years of P.E. is required during high school, so you would not need to do this during your Junior and Senior year if you took care of it before.

Furthermore, some high schools allow horseback riding students to take off the last period of each day to go to the barn. This is the same as the football team practicing during that same period, except that horseback riding students will leave school for their P.E. credit. In order to qualify for this exemption, you would need to have transportation to the barn and you would have to show evidence that you go to the stable during that time.

This is a great way for horseback riding students to fit additional courses into their schedule without having to worry about getting sweaty during fourth-period P.E. class. If you think this is something you might enjoy, talk to your parents about it and make sure your riding instructor will be able to fulfill his or her end of the deal.