Area 1 Scholarship Write-ups Posted

The Area 1 USEA Scholarship program is one that I've been absolutely thrilled and honored to work on. It's been a tremendous success in its short two-year span, and I'm looking forward to a third year of work.

The write-ups for last year's recipients were just posted on the Area 1 website, and I couldn't be prouder of all of them. They run the gamut from kids to adults, from amateurs to professionals, from BN riders to upper level riders.

I think I speak for all the committee members when I say that it really is a privilege to share so many hopes and dreams as we review applications. I wish we were awash in cash and could hand scholarships out to everyone. But our resources are limited and we try to share them as best we can.

So go, read these inspiring stories, and if you're in Area 1 (or you ride & compete frequently in Area 1) apply in 2014!

(Spoiler alert: one of them, the little girl who used the scholarship money to make her last season with the pony she was outgrowing, made me cry both in reading the application and in reading her follow-up report.)

2013 Area 1 Scholarships

I have been so busy blathering on about my own pony that I forgot an actually awesome thing that is going on right now: the USEA Area 1 Scholarship awards.

I'm on the committee that puts together the guidelines and then gets to review the applications, and it is one of my favorite things to do each year, to be so privileged as to get to share in so many wonderful people's hopes and dreams. I wish I could give every single applicant a scholarship, truly.

This year I am closer to that wish, because we have more than doubled our award money - we're giving a total of 9 scholarships of $250 each for those who want to pursue eventing-related educational activities - lessons, clinics, unmounted classes like TD training or course design, other out of the box ideas - you name it.

Application materials can be found on the Area 1 website here.

Area 1 Scholarship Program

I'm part of the Area 1 Scholarship Committee, which awards four people each year with a small grant to pursue educational opportunities in the sport of eventing. It's all Hannah's fault, really; she emailed me with instructions to talk her out of volunteering to help create the program, and that ended up sucking me in too.

It's been an amazingly rewarding experience. I was deeply humbled by the applications we received: so many dedicated, brilliant, talented people who shared their lives and their dreams with us. I cried at more than a few.

As Hannah just posted, our first two recipients have written up their experiences [PDF]. We have our two fall applicants picked and confirmed. It's well and truly off the ground and I couldn't be prouder. Eventers helping eventers: awesome.