cecollins0811 - 2013-12-28 10:27 AM I went to this college and graduated in 2012. That was the same year that they started up the barrel racing degree and if I had the extra money I would go back and do it. I have the Horse Training & Management degree and I have to admit, it hasn't helped me get any jobs, but I'm confident on starting my own colts and not paying someone who will put the first 30 - 90 rides on them. A friend of mine graduated from the HTM degree and went straight into the barrel racing degree. She said that she has learned so much and she is going to be interning with Sheri Cervi for her last semester. Also Marilyn Camarillo is the main instructor for the BR degree. She is an amazing teacher and a great woman to work with. If you don't know her then you should definitely look her up. Also, this school doesn't spit out students with horse degrees that don't know how to tack up their horse or clean out a stall properly. Everyone is required to take a breeding class, a regular horse health class, and more. There is even a certificate if you would want to work with weanlings. Of course there's going to be a few bad eggs but if they are truly that bad then they get kicked out. Show up to class late too many times, you're kicked out. Don't like cleaning your stall every day, you're kicked out. They take the horses seriously here and if you're a student there, you are expected to act like a professional (or at least a professional in training). There's three degree's in total and it's possible to do all of them if you really wanted to. There's Horse Training & Management where you break and train someone's colt (or your own if you bring it) and you get a semester to train a horse is a specific class. There's Equine Business & Management where you ride broke horses but you refine their skills and you have regular classes on more of the business side, and now there's the Barrel Racing Degree. If you think you know enough about horses and training a barrel horse, then you obviously don't. Every great horse rider, trainer, breeder, or anyone will say that you never stop learning and you learn something new every day. This college might not be the top in the country or is on everyone's list, but it's nothing to over-look either.

AnotherRound - 2013-12-28 11:27 PM


I said No but if I got to intern with Sherry Cervi I sure as heck would! 

WhizkeyontheBar - 2018-02-05 7:22 PM

I see this thread is several years old, but even so, if I stumbled upon it by accident and was able to read it, so may others in the future.

As a 2013 graduate from Lamar Community College's Horse Training and Management program, for any who may be interested, I say YES, I would absolutely go to LCC for their HTM-Barrel Horse degree program! The program began in 2012, during the second year of my HTM degree. Had I more funds, I'd have segued from the HTM program straight into the HTM-Barrel program. At least one of my classmates did.

LCC's HTM program was the first equine training degree-earning program in the United States for Western disciplines, originating in the 70's. In large part due to the program's success, many other newer equine colleges and educational centers have modeled their programs after LCC's.

At the time I attended LCC, Marilyn Camarillo headed the Barrel program. You are going to be hard-pressed to find an instructor as qualified as Marilyn, and considering LCC is the first--and so far only--college offering a Barrel Horse Training degree in the US, you won't. Added bonus--she's also a clinician! Not only has she qualified for the NFR, but she's qualified seven times on three horses she trained herself. Charmayne James is just one of the World Champion barrel racers Marilyn has assisted. Look Marilyn up online and you'll find some magazine articles about her and her involvement in LCC.

JJ Rydberg is the equine programs facilitator and heads the HTM program. I can't say enough good things about JJ. They don't come any more patient than him, that's for sure. He's one of those cowboys whose name precedes him in the best way possible. JJ spent fifteen years on the pro rodeo circuit, most of those years ranking in the Top 20 in the world. Telling you he holds two World Champion titles in calf-roping on two horses he trained himself is just scratching the surface. For a more extensive list of accomplishments, look him up online or check out LCC's HTM Faculty page.

The question proposed to you now is, WHY would you go to school for this? I can tell you from experience, if you don't have a "why" you likely won't finish the program, or have the desire to start it in the first place. The "why" is what gets you through it. HTM is a rigorous program. I foresee the barrel program to be similar. Don't expect to float through it. You have to WANT to be there, WANT to succeed. Just like anything else in life, what you are willing to put into something is what you will get out of it and this program is no exception. Opportunity is often missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Just like my classmate cecollins said, the college doesn't put up with nonsense from the students. It doesn't matter if you came from a rich family and you've never had to clean a stall a day in your life. You'll be cleaning your own horse's stall at LCC. And you'll be graded on it. Your horse runs out of water or you're too lazy to change it for weeks? That's part of your grade. The horses that are lent to the school are not throw-away horses. Someone with money and good intent sent them and the college is going to make sure they go home in at least the same body condition they came, at the very least. Instructors are not interested in damaging the reputation they have with the prestigious ranches they have built partnerships with throughout the years. Same applies to the internship. When you are away on internship, you are representing your college's program and its instructors.

The HTM program only accepts thirty students a year. I'm not sure how many people can enroll in the Barrel program. If you don't get in, you put your name on a wait list. They are not interested in wasting their time on students who aren't there for a reason. Before you are accepted into the program, you must complete a riding interview on a green two-year colt (again, HTM. Not sure about the Barrel program). If you can't ride, you don't get in. The HTM program doesn't take everyone who applies.

I obtained my degree in the HTM program because I wanted to fast-track my career in the equine industry. We didn't have much for trainers in Western disciplines where I was from so the opportunity to work under someone to gain my knowledge wasn't an option. I'll be honest, I thought I knew something about horses going into it (that's always the first indication you don't know jack-diddly). I quickly realized I didn't know squat. My degree does mean something, mostly because it came from LCC. Many top trainers are familiar with LCC and the quality of students they turn out into the equine industry. If I applied for a job with a top reining, cutting, barrel or other Western-disciplined trainer, and they knew I was a graduate of LCC, even if I had zero training experience prior to college, the chances are good that my application would be given a second glance. These trainers know the quality of the HTM instructors, and many of them know the instructors personally.

If you have lofty dreams of being someone someday, of winning the American or going to the NFR, the Barrel Horse Training program could be your ticket to getting there. If you want to have your own barn and stick with training and consignments for higher-end horses with what's current in the industry, or even have a breeding program, the Barrel Horse Training program could help you. If you want to show at the NRHA futurity, for example, the HTM program enables you to make the connections to make it happen. Just ask Dell Hendricks, NRHA $1 million dollar rider. Sure, you can choose a lower-level trainer to do your internship or work with after graduation. But if you are a reiner, why not intern with Shawn Flarida or Andrea Fappani or someone else on that level? If you're a barrel racer, why not intern with Sheri Cervi, Charmayne James, Martha Josey or someone on their level? All you have to do is call and ask when the time comes. If they have a spot open, chances are good you're off to their respective farms and ranches come internship time. If they really like you, and they still have a spot, there's a good chance you'll be hired on for a job. And I don't mean cleaning stalls, I mean riding top-dollar horses (although there may be a bit of poop-scooping occasionally).

When a student comes out of any of these programs, it's highly suggested to work under another professional first before going out on your own. It really will help you succeed further, faster and make you more equipped for your future goals. Again, with any of these programs, the sky really is the limit, all based upon how lofty your goals and how much work you want to put into it. Several of my classmates took the HTM and EBM degrees at the same time. One of those moved right into the barrel program. There are options!

One thing I can promise you if you attend the HTM-Barrel Horse Training program, the HTM program, or the Equine Business Management program, you WILL know more when you leave than you did when you started, ESPECIALLY if you think you already know something. If it weren't for the awesome instructors at LCC and the opportunity I had to attend, I would not have the knowledge I do today, I would not have been able to have the experiences I have had to date, and I would not be able to have the future I now have. The only limits you have coming out of these programs are the ones you place on yourself... and fear, if you let it.

Nateracer - 2013-12-27 8:39 PM

Just because you have a degree, doesn't mean anyone will think much of it. Most people will look for accomplishments over a piece of paper.