Last updatd 03/25/09
Dartmouth indeed has a horseback riding facility, the Dartmouth Riding Center at Morton Farm in Etna, N.H. (a 15-minute drive from downtown Hanover). The 200-acre property, donated by Margaret and William H. Morton ’32 in 1978, includes a farmhouse, three barns, an indoor riding arena, two outdoor riding arenas, pastures, and miles of trails.
The farm is home to Dartmouth’s varsity equestrian team, coached by Director of Riding Sally Batton. The team competes in intercollegiate hunt seat equitation and is open to riders at all ability levels. Dartmouth’s dressage team operates as a club sport and competes in Intercollegiate Dressage Association events. Students can also take riding lessons for physical education credit, and more than 80 do so each term. Those looking for some excitement can even join the Polocrosse Club, a fast-paced team sport that is like lacrosse on horseback. (They are in good hands—Sally Batton wrote the first book on polocrosse.)
Morton Farm is also a resource for the community, offering lessons, horse boarding, children’s summer camps, foxchasing, a series of horse shows, and more. The farm has a great string of school horses for students to ride, many of which were donated to Dartmouth. In winter 2009, 16 school horses—ranging from an Appaloosa pony to an Irish Sport Horse—and 10 boarders filled the farm’s barns.
Ready to saddle up? Send an email to sally.batton@dartmouth.edu, call (603) 643-1808, or visit the riding center online.
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