Riding high in the saddle at the Rehoboth stables recently is Rebecca Yu, of Colorado, a student in the Johnson & Wales equine business-management program.

The Providence Journal / Bill Murphy

REHOBOTH –– Mention Johnson & Wales University, and horses are not the first thing that comes to mind. Hospitality, yes. Culinary arts, yes. Horses, not so much.

But Johnson & Wales has an extensive program in equine studies, with an elaborate 31-acre facility in Rehoboth, Mass., and more than 30 horses. There’s a large fully equipped barn, a heated indoor riding arena, pastures and two outdoor riding arenas.

“If someone who doesn’t know the horse industry asks me where I go to school, and I say Johnson & Wales, they assume I’m a chef,” said Sara Ross, 23, a senior from Lakeville, Mass. “But everyone in the equine world knows about the Johnson & Wales program.”

The equine studies program, which began in 1980, is part of the Johnson & Wales College of Business; it offers two bachelor of science degrees, one in equine business management, the other in equine business management with an emphasis on riding and riding instruction. (The program previously offered a two-year associate degree, but as of this fall it will offer only bachelor’s degrees.)

“We belong in the College of Business,” said Beth Beukema, director of the equine studies program. “We concentrate on running a business, whether that means students managing their own farms or being a [riding] teacher. These are jobs in the business world . . . when our students get out, they can run an equine business.”

Beukema said some of the students go on to work directly with horses, perhaps managing barns or horse farms, training animals or instructing riders. Others join equine-related businesses, such as selling equipment or running horse shows.

The school works extensively with what Beukema calls sport horses — jumpers, for example, and show horses trained in dressage, a series of formal movements, a type of equine gymnastics. On the other hand, the program has relatively little involvement with the world of horse racing. Beukema said that’s mostly because there are relatively few horse racing job opportunities in New England.

Johnson & Wales held an equine career night in April. Among those attending were riding schools such as the Dana Hall School Riding Center, in Wellesley, Mass.; Securos, a Fiskdale, Mass., company that manufactures veterinary orthopedic products; HorseWorks LLC, a job broker for the equestrian world; Classic Communications, a Foxboro, Mass., public relations agency that specializes in equestrian sports; Blue Seal Feeds, of Londonderry, N.H.; and SmartPak Equine, of Plymouth, Mass., which markets equine products, particularly nutritional supplements.

The equestrian world can also offer some surprising job opportunities. Beukema pointed out that valuable horses need to be insured, so some graduates have gone into the equine insurance business

Ross is already working at SmartPak as a product specialist, answering customer questions about their nutritional products.

“I use what I learned in the nutrition classes every day at work,” she said. Ross said several Johnson & Wales students are already working at SmartPak, so the company hired her even before she got her degree.

Ross, who broke a foot last year, said she has just one more class to finish this summer before graduating. (Her injury had nothing to do with horses — she fell off a sidewalk in Providence.)

The Johnson & Wales program combines conventional business courses, science classes in equine nutrition, genetics and anatomy, and hands-on work with the horses. The riding component is a particularly attractive part of the program for most students, Beukema said. She estimated that 95 percent of the students who apply are interested in riding as part of their curriculum. But Beukema said that out of the 120 students in the program, only about 90 can be accommodated in the riding classes.

The Rehoboth facility has between 30 and 35 horses, most of which have been donated to the school. Some of them have impressive pedigrees and show experience, and their value goes up into the six figures. During the school year, students get to ride twice a week, so each horse is ridden by more than one student.

Beukema said there’s considerable demand for spots in the Johnson & Wales equine program, and the school can afford to be selective. She said the school accepts about 40 students a year, and the spaces are filled almost a year in advance. The program cuts off applications each year after the first 150.

Although the school accepts 40 students a year, Beukema said attrition and early graduations mean there are only 120 in the program at any given time.

If you’re a beginning rider, this is not for you. The Johnson & Wales program requires riding expertise as a prerequisite, and candidates for admission must submit a DVD of themselves on horseback. The student demographic is overwhelmingly female — last year there were only three men in the program. Students take their academic courses at the Johnson & Wales campus in Providence, and come to Rehoboth to work directly with the horses. (The school runs a shuttle bus from the Providence campus to its Equine Center in Rehoboth.)

Laurel Collin, 22, is a junior from Sebastopol, Calif., who has been riding since she was 5. She said a Johnson & Wales representative came to her high school, but didn’t know much about the equine program. Collin was persistent, and eventually called Rhode Island to get more information.

But she decided she wasn’t quite ready to leave California, so she took an equine certificate course at a California community college before transferring to Johnson & Wales last fall. She said she wasn’t sure exactly what she’ll do after graduation — possibly teach, and ultimately run a horseboarding facility.

Last Monday, on a cloudy, humid morning, three students were putting horses though their paces in one of the outdoor rings, under the watchful eye of Dirk Fogg, assistant director of riding. The students were preparing for a dressage show scheduled for Wednesday. As they rode, Fogg called out a steady stream of recommendations and advice. He told them to use their fingers on the reins as though they were trying to roll a little piece of dough. He also suggested they smile.

“It’s a Monday, the first day at the office,” Fogg said. “The goal today is to relax, try to explore strengths and weaknesses. Riders have strengths and weaknesses, and so do horses, and we want to explore those. You need to know, am I driving a minivan, or a sports car, or a pickup truck?”

Fogg said the school tries to match horse and rider in a way that will help riders develop their skills, which doesn’t always mean the student gets a horse that’s easiest for her to ride.

Rebecca Yu, 22, a junior from Durango, Colo., was one of the three riders in the ring. Johnson & Wales has a Denver campus, and a representative came to Yu’s school. She saw information about the equine study program — which is only offered through the Providence campus — in a brochure. She said she was attracted to the school by the diversity of its program.

“I wanted an equine program, but I also wanted something to fall back on that would be useful to me,” she said. “This seemed like the most well-rounded program out there . . . there are courses on [horse] nutrition, lameness, but also marketing and accounting. It’s not strictly equine. I think that’s important.”

For more information on the Johnson & Wales equine study program, contact Kelly O’Neil, admissions representative, at (508) 252-9270 or at koneil@jwu.edu; or visit the Johnson & Wales Web site at www.jwu.edu and look under the College of Business.

asmith@projo.com