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Welcome to the Academic Riding Club Berne

About the Academic Riding Club Berne

Welcome to the Academic Riding Club Berne!

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The Academic Riding Club Berne, or ARK Berne for short, is the student riding club in and around Berne.

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Members from any university are very welcome! You don't need to own a horse.

Are you interested? Would you like to know more? Then don't hesitate to contact us!

Activities of the ARK Berne

Welcome to the Academic Riding Club Berne, where horse enthusiasts can embrace numerous opportunities to regularly and affordably advance their riding skills at a high level, even without owning a horse, or simply indulge in their equestrian hobby. Our community engages in dressage, jumping, and eventing at every skill level.

ARK members can participate in:

  • Jumping and dressage lessons

  • Training weekends

  • Training weeks

  • National and international student riding competitions

  • Taster days in other equestrian disciplines

Have other ideas? If you have suggestions for different equestrian activities or want to make an offer, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're open to new concepts and collaborations!

Membership

Who Can Become an ARK Member?

All members (students, doctoral candidates, employees, interns, apprentices...) and alumni of the University of Bern are eligible to join the Academic Riding Club as full members.

Students at other Swiss universities, as well as education and training students in the Canton of Bern (upon their request or the recommendation of a board member), can be accepted as associate members in ARK. All others are warmly welcomed as supporting members!

Anyone benefiting from ARK in any way should be a club member, meaning they should also pay the membership fee. Those who wish to attend regular get-togethers can do so after registering via email, even without a membership - however, membership is mandatory for participating in riding courses, student riding competitions, training weekends, etc.

Admission to the club is granted only after attending a regular meetup (or similar event), where you can get a first impression of us and decide if ARK is the right club for you. There, you will also receive the registration form, which you need to fill out and return to us. You will receive the payment request with the account details from ARK Bern's secretary.

Rights of an Active Member:

  • Voting rights at the General Assembly

  • Eligibility for subsidies from university sports (50 CHF per semester) and from ARK itself (30 CHF per semester)

  • Membership in the ZKV (Central Swiss Equestrian Federation), thus enjoying all the benefits of a ZKV member

  • Priority over supporting members and external participants in booking training weekends

  • Participation in national and international student competitions

  • Assistance in finding riding lessons/participation

  • Socializing among like-minded individuals

Obligations of an Active Member:

  • To keep the club vibrant, we expect active members to attend the General Assembly in February and/or the information aperitif in September.

  • They should also participate in at least one ARK activity per year (regular meetups, excursions, training weekends, etc.).

  • To endear themselves to other ARK members, they can also take on the organization of an activity or training, but this is by no means compulsory!

Membership can be applied for at the start of each semester and begins once the membership fee has been paid. Resignation is possible at the end of each year.

Membership Fee:

The annual fee is 50 Swiss francs for student members (with a student ID) and 80 Swiss francs for alumni. It is due by December 31st for the following year.

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