This is what makes it fun!
Finance internships are alive and well, cutthroat as ever and paying the $$ for 80+ hour work weeks.
1 Like
Your post reminded me of some old friends of mine whose daughter got a scholarship to Yale. I went to two state universities, undergrad and grad, and I’d never even heard of students having the opportunities this young woman had at Yale. A completely alien world to my (and friends’) college experiences.
My oldest friend’s dad went to UVA undergrad. Yes, it’s not the average state university. 
IMO this is a well-thought-out fantastic plan and I’m here for it. 
All future questions don’t have to be answered now, of course – in fact they can’t be, as things will evolve naturally over time. This is an outline roadmap style of plan and for now that’s what’s needed.
I hope you check in from time to time over the years and let us know how it is going. I have a feeling that whatever bumps or turns come up in the road, you’ll figure out a way forward.
Gig em Ags. 
9 Likes
@LilahEquestrian, DM me if you feel comfortable doing so. I may have some helpful info for you & parents re A&M.
1 Like
Actually it’s not that unrealistic, especially if you diverted that money you’d otherwise spend on boarding school as seed money for your barn. I know people who started with less and made a business out of it. One young woman I know started by acquiring a cheap lease on an old racehorse training facility in exchange for doing the maintenance, trained a few kill pen/rescue projects into a solid lesson string, took boarding and training clients here and there, and then expanded into hosting a successful local horse show series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work, much of it thankless. And it’s not like she’s getting to jet off to WEF and jump in Grand Prixs. But she’s a local fixture, heavily involved in the community and getting kids started with horses and giving people a fun, affordable place to show, and I imagine that’s gratifying in its own way. And believe me, she started out with a lot less than 3 years’ worth of $50k tuition!
7 Likes
Some advice – definitely try to intern/working student during the summers, and would look to try to be an assistant trainer for an “older” trainer that you could possibly inherit the business of or be in line for. There will be lot of BNTs turning over in the next 10-15 years.
4 Likes
This is a good point. Taking that money as start up capital, and doing less costly school (Guelph’s equine management courses might be good for example, and you don’t have to wait to graduate high school to do them, and the CHA coaching program), might be a realistic way to get into the industry a less glamourous, but more in demand way. Lots more demand for entry level coaching and barn management than for high level showing, but it can lead to the latter as you develop clientele.
1 Like
The Rein family is a big client of Laura’s-- I think it is not accurate to call her an intern.
6 Likes
Lilah, you have gotten A LOT of very sound advice from a collection of very wise adults.
They are, for the most part saying two things:
- You really can’t afford your private boarding high school and
- You need a plan B.
You have received a lot of reasons why you can’t afford it and been given a myriad of good ideas for Plan B.
Sometimes in life we don’t get what we want. That’s life…and facing that is part of growing up.
But life is a funny thing…sometimes, years later, we wind up grateful that we didn’t get what we wanted…because what we actually did get was better.
Life is paradoxical that way. Be open to alternative dreams.
15 Likes
I can’t like this enough!
3 Likes
I don’t necessarily think boarding school is a bad idea for this OP either, but I think this boarding school might be.
@LilahEquestrian, I went to a very well-known all girls boarding school with a stand out equestrian program in the very early 00’s. Tuition even then was over $48K/year and board was $1150 before lessons (we had to take a minimum of 2 per week). I was showing heavily on the AA circuit before going there and continued to show heavily after leaving and I can honestly say that the school did not make or break the riding careers of ANYONE I know. I do know that a few girls have since gone back and worked for my school as professionals, but their junior and amateur careers were far more extensive than showing school-owned horses. One had a whole string of hunters, jumpers, and Big Eq horses and the other was an incredibly successful Big Eq rider with a super nice high junior jumper. We had some lovely school horses, but those weren’t the horses that defined anyone’s junior career.
I am going to say this as someone who was lucky enough to have the funds and the familial support to go to boarding school and continue my riding career; it is simply not going to do for you what you think it will. At least not in terms of reaching your goal of being a professional rider. Now, if we’re talking academically, that may be an entirely different story, particularly given your current educational situation. But that said, you’d be FAR better off leasing/selling your horse and diving headlong into your academics and making that the focus of your time there. If you can ride and be on their varsity team and have some showing opportunities, that’s great! But having one 3’3" junior hunter is not going to get you on an NCAA team. But doing extremely well academically, applying to strong colleges, and choosing a major with a lucrative career path will afford you to do so much more in this sport than your current plan. Being a professional isn’t all its cracked up to be and for every BNT there are hundreds upon hundreds of struggling pros who can barely make ends meet each month.
If horses were out of the equation, what other things might you be interested in doing? Based on your answer to that question, then explore what possible career paths will most likely result in a solid financial future that will allow you to have the riding career you want. In that vein, is it too late to apply to other boarding/day schools with lower tuition and better academics? I feel like this would be your smartest move.
Best of luck!!
25 Likes
LilahEquestrian,
You’ve gotten lots of great ideas to ponder. Thumbs up to the advice about creating a Plan B, Plan C and more as you wrestle with your plans. Lateral thinking skills are important for everything in life.
A path not yet mentioned in this thread … learn about equestrian professional certification programs. The British Horse Society offers many and I believe a couple other countries do as well. No, they aren’t a path to Eq competition. But they can be a path to an solid equestrian career and it’s much less costly than the boarding school fees you’re considering. A carefully choosen program offers an immersion experience with a great deal of riding and teaching time, commercial barn mgmt and professional connections. At the upper levels of the BHS programs, you’ve got the Fellowship level which includes many noted professionals and some Olympians.
Also be cautious about the statements of ‘million dollar horses’ at any school. I’ve got experience with an elite university, highly successful in collegiate competition. People who donate horses there can put any price tag they’d like on the donation. Some of the horses originally were big ticket H/J/Eq horses but they’re donated because they need to step down, have lameness issues, or provided a higher cash value through a tax donation than an outright sale. They’re jumped lightly at lower heights to preserve their ability to work a bit longer. While these horses can teach a lot, there are no ‘career starter’ horses in those situations.
While you’re figuring all of this out, ride all the horses you can. Don’t limit yourself to H/J. Horses in other disciplines (cutting, reining, ranch versatility, etc) have a lot to teach a future horse professional. Good luck!
11 Likes
OP. I applaud you in your efforts to raise money to fund your dreams. You’ve gotten a lot of wonderful advice. I’m assuming you would need to attend for multiple years? My concern is not just you being able to afford the cost of school in the fall, but also subsequent years. For example, if you/you’re family has to raise an extra 50,000 every year, that’s a lot of money! While leasing your horse could become a short term solution for the fall, it does not address the long term sustainability (assuming you are not going to be a senior in the fall).
2 Likes
Agree, I’ve been following this thread and not commenting - but from a European perspective, we would work it another way - that is potentially significantly cheaper.
During holidays look at the BHS stage exams and each summer perhaps travel overseas and train somewhere to achieve them - there are places in the USA that do this too. Experience loads of different barns and systems and get qualifications.
Here in Europe, many kids take a gap year between school and University/college. Leverage the connections you have built in the summers and the qualifications and spend a year with a top level rider in your chosen discipline training and riding.
Apply to uni with the qualifications, with your global perspective and with the get-up-and-go and initiative that you have demonstrated in doing all this - those are the soft/life skills a uni looks for when granting scholarships etc.
Many of these things you will need to pay for, but it will work out at substantially less than your school fees and your gap year could easily be a paid position.
Just throwing it out there, that you don’t HAVE to follow the USA conventional route. Other options are available that don’t in any way compromise your studies or budget.
12 Likes
Actually, what OP is wanting to do is not the “conventional route” to success as a riding professional in the USA. Sure, for some but they are in the minority and many, if not most, of those continue as wealthy Amateurs far into adulthood. They never depend on horses to fund their riding, never take orders from owners and never worry about losing the ride in a tiff with owners.
As a career, not what it looks like from outside. OP would do well to spend more time as a working student, intern or a paid groom position to see what it’s really like and how little a fancy boarding school means on a future resume for a rider, trainer or barn manager.
Would like to repeat the question what does OP want to do in life besides ride horses? I know shes young yet but it’s time to start being realistic.
Had a thought, if OP really wants a career as a Pro, selling her horse would be a good first step in the skills Pros need, few keep any personal horses if they are saleable. They can’t afford to keep and show it and/or just do not have time, client horses come first.
16 Likes
Kind of like 4H. The reality of agriculture sinks in auction night.
4 Likes
For being on track to be a professional, this is the best plan I’ve seen so far in this thread.
With the caveat that it does not build a fall-back degree for other income opportunities. The truth is that the academics need to be the first priority for a good life with enough funds to ride and achieve competitively.
But both could be done in a high school chosen to allow the finances to pursue this overseas plan as well. Especially if you can be working in a horse-position of some kind while working toward British horse exams. A lot needs to be prepared re visas, etc., of course.
2 Likes
Have you looked into additional scholarships ?
School Vouchers and Tax Relief
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/how-to-get-private-school-financial-aid
"School vouchers are state-funded programs that allow families to use public funds to attend private schools. There are currently 27 voucher programs operating in 16 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Education Commission of the States.
While programs operate differently in each state, voucher programs essentially use state funds to pay part of the cost of private school. Most programs target low-income families in an effort to provide parents with additional educational choices."
1 Like
Another great reality check. For those who don’t get the reference, the 4H kid puts their heart and soul into raising a young creature for a number of months, such as a lamb, pig or calf.
At the end of the project, the creature goes to the big fair show for judging, and is then taken from the young owner to be auctioned for slaughter.
The auction is a very big deal, sponsors put in big (hopefully) money that is supposed to go to a college fund. And sometimes they have a barbeque serving the animal on plates to the guests. That’s the agriculture business.
Trainers do something that is emotionally adjacent to this process. Putting their heart & soul into a nice young horse with potential. Only to sell it to someone who lets the horse rot in a stall with little turnout … or whatever becomes of it eventually. Sometimes it goes to an owner who really makes the most of the good start and treats the animal well. But not always.
Plus the trainer doesn’t always have access to the horses they would like for competition. It’s not easy to find a sponsor who keeps them going with a suitable horse.
That’s something for every future horse pro to think about. Is that the life you really want? A lot of people get a taste of it and decide ‘no’. Better to become a self-funded amateur and retain control over your horse’s quality of life, and your own competition career.
6 Likes
