The Club

Membership is open to all UMD students. No prior experience is required to get involved in our club; we will provide all of the necessary training and evaluations needed to get you started at the right level (view our tiers below)! 

MEC hosts a New Member Meeting at the beginning of each semester, during which we provide all of the information, forms, and scheduling information regarding training and evaluation sessions to get new members oriented into the club. Members who join after the initial training period will need to wait until the following semester to increase their membership level to those that involve working with our horses. 

If you are interested in joining our club, please be sure to attend our New Member Meeting and fill out the New Member Interest Form!

For dates of all of these great events, check the calendar! If you are interested in joining our club, please email our Executive Director at exec.mec@gmail.com to receive all materials needed to get started!

Non-Discrimination Statement

MEC openly admits students to its membership and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. 

According to the MEC Constitution and Bylaws (which you can read here), active membership is open to people officially connected to the University of Maryland, College Park. This includes faculty, staff, and registered students (full, part, or graduate). To be considered an active member, one must pay their dues, attend all of the meetings unless otherwise noted, ensure qualified substitutes for weekly obligations unable to perform, and inform instructors of excused riding absences.

All members are required to attend each GBM and complete a total of 4 service hours per semester.

Pony Tier -  Free
Members in the Foal Tier are welcome to attend all of our social events and meetings but are unable to interact with our horses.

Horse Tier - $20 Fee
This tier enables members to participate in all of our social events for a reduced cost and also enables members to interact with our horses at events, volunteer opportunities, or through the chore program. 

Draft Tier - $550 Fee
This tier is for members participating in our lesson program. Members of this tier get all Pony Tier benefits in addition to weekly lessons taught by our instructors. 

Deadlines
Fees are due one week after the first meeting and will be held until the semester schedule is released. Fees of members who made it onto the schedule will be deposited while fees of those not on the schedule will be returned. Special payment circumstances can be discussed with the Finance Director at financ.mec@gmail.com but must be brought up and arranged completely before the first riding lesson.

In order to be placed on the chore or lesson schedule, you must join at the beginning of the semester. To be considered on our chore or lesson schedule, you should be prepared to turn in the following two forms: Responsibility Contract and Liability Waiver. A form requesting your semester availability and program interest will be sent out immediately after our first meeting along with an email containing these forms to be completed within one week of the meeting. Forms must be submitted digitally.

Forms are due one week after the first meeting and will be held until the semester schedule is released. If you miss the deadline, don't worry! MEC offers a wide variety of clinics and social events that are open to all members regardless of placement on the schedule.

Our club hosts General Body Meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at 8 pm in ANSC 0408. Any change of time or location to the meetings will be announced over our listserv and on the website. To view our meeting schedule, please click here.

GBM attendance is mandatory for all of our members. Absences may be excused if we are informed prior to the meeting date.