Monday, July 27, 2015

How To Find Equestrian Scholarships

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By Dorthy Lloyd


Almost anyone can benefit from a little help when it comes time for higher education. College or university is expensive, but the fact remains that a degree helps find significant work in any field. Fortunately thousands of public, private, corporate, and civic organizations offer financial aid for tuition and other expenses. Many of these are unused, since no one applies for them. Dedicated equestrian scholarships are only one of many kinds of awards that a student interested in working with horses may qualify for.

All sorts of aid is out there, from purely academic packages to those offered to athletes. Some are based on community service, others given to winners of beauty pageants or talent contests. Institutions offer their own aid for students who meet the academic requirements but who may be unable to pay their own way completely.

Some scholarships are broad enough to include any kind of study, stating merely that they be used for educational costs. Others depend on certain criteria the award winner must fill. For example, an athlete who cannot play because of injury or bad grades may lose their award. A student who does not maintain a satisfactory grade point average might lose their academic aid. Aid from one school will not transfer with a student who changes schools.

Riding can pave the way to college. Both English and western organizations proudly award financial aid year after year. As horse shows and rodeos gain popularity as a spectator sport, schools have come to offer degree programs in all sorts of equine activities and to field teams for intramural competitions. Whether the sport is barrel racing, polo, or Grand Prix jumping, success in the arena can count for more than ribbons or belt buckles.

Another source of funds is breed associations. A boy or girl who owns an Arabian horse, for instance, should check out awards given by Arabian clubs. There are similar awards for those who work with Quarterhorses, Morgans, Saddlebreds, and other breeds. Most of these offers are small, consisting of perhaps a thousand dollars a year, but there is no limit to the number of awards one student can get from various sources.

There are online websites with a lot of information, so finding help is easier than ever. The College Scholarship Organization is one of these, as is the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association site. This latter posts a list of organized school teams, listing them by region and division. A general search will turn up leads to awards many have never heard of, so don't limit the topic too narrowly.

Those who don't excel in riding may be interested in other facets of the horse industry. There are courses in barn management, equine law, animal husbandry (general care), running a riding school or camp, and animal nutrition. There are millions of horses in the country, and millions of riders, so the field is a wide-open one which shows no signs of decline.

There is a treasure trove of financial aid out there, given by groups like the Boy Scouts or retailers like Wal Mart. Many corporations offer aid packages, as do civic groups and individual philanthropists. Any serious student should be able to find help to pay for higher education.




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