Jalila is the Spring 2022 Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship recipient, sponsored by Kerrits Equestrian Apparel.
My name is Jalila Nazerali-Ruddy, and I am a rising junior at Mount Holyoke College. I am double majoring in education and psychology! So far in my 20 years, I have lived in four different countries (Uganda, Sudan, Tanzania, and the US). My equestrian journey started around the age of five in Uganda, where I was born and lived for seven years, where I started riding thanks to my Mum (a former horsewoman herself!). Due to all the moving, my equestrian journey has been very start and stop. I started out with pony rides, and then during my years in Sudan, my Mum became my instructor. While in Tanzania, the rides consisted of bush trail rides and slightly uncontrolled beach rides. Once I moved to Vermont, I started jumping, but shortly after, I moved barns and started working with greener horses on the flat in both western and English and a lot of foundational work was dressage.
Since making the mounted roster at Mount Holyoke College, my riding goals have focused in on dressage and developing my knowledge, both mounted and unmounted, about the discipline. I would love to develop my skills in the saddle, not only for the purpose of showing but just to have the amazing yet unexplainable connection that is formed when a rider is able to find a connection with a horse.
My realistic plan upon graduating Mount Holyoke College is taking a few years and working at a barn full time, preferably a training barn or a low-key Dressage barn. I would then like to find a stable job as a teacher to be able to financially support taking lessons or even leasing or owning my own horse. Although showing is something that I enjoy and would like to do a few times, I do not see it as a big part of my life post college. On the side, I would like to run a small equine photography business. I would say I am on the right track to accomplish these goals because I am currently two years in working towards graduating with a teacher licensure. I have a summer camp job working as a riding and vaulting counsellor, and this is a job offer for life as this summer (2022) will be my 10th summer attending due to being a camper and counsellor in trainer. This camp is a second home, and at times, a first home. Photography-wise, I have been taking lots of equine photos for friends of mine, playing around with portrait photos, and I have recently been taking more action shots. I see my skills developing especially when it comes to editing and touching up.
On the more dream side, ultimately, I would like to lease my own barn and run a business training horses and offering boarding and lessons. Further out on the dream, I would like to stay in New England and become a diverse barn, working with schools and finding students of color who may take an interest in entering the equine world. The biggest challenges I have had to overcome/working on overcoming with being involved with riding are:
• Financial logistics. Since freshman year of high school, I have been funding my horse addiction. Although my Mum fully supports and encourages it, it has not been in her budget. I have worked off my lessons with chores, riding horses that need extra schooling, worked three jobs this past year at college, and kept close track of my spending. This past year has been especially hard financially with having to buy show clothing/items. I also had a fall during try-outs in the fall that both concussed me and broke my helmet. I was then unable to work/ride for a month. (Although, I still made the team and couldn’t wait to get back on!)
• Social challenges. Being a black equestrian in general is always a challenge. I always felt my skin color living in Vermont but even more so riding at MHC. Although a main attraction of Mount Holyoke is the equestrian center this past year, between all three teams (hunt seat, western, and Dressage) I am one of two black equestrians. The hunt seat and western has more diversity as it draws in many Asian international students but for Dressage, I am the only person of color on my team and very often at shows too.
• Inconsistent availability to ride/Transport. As I do not have a car when on campus, I rely on the bus or a rental car to go ride and spend time with my project lease horse Robyn. During the warmer weather, it is inconvenient as I must schedule around the bus and then walk 30 mins to the barn and another 30 to the bus so as a college student, it takes a big chunk out of my day. My other option is ZipCar which, although I don’t have to pay for gas, I can only afford book it for around 2 hours which is never enough time since it takes 15 minutes to drive there.
If I were to receive the scholarship, part of it would go towards my Dressage Team Fee riding lessons at college. The rest would go towards Robyn, my project lease horse! I would split it between her basic needs as well as things that would help us progress further. For example, I would love to trailer her to my school and have a proper lesson with her and my coach so I can get a second opinion and guidance/direction of what to work with her as well as being able to go out and see her more often.
The money that would go toward the Dressage fee or PE lesson will help me in the future because it would enable me to practice and gain more in saddle experience. Not only that, but by being taught I am able to pick up tips and tricks when I become the instructor. The money that goes towards Robyn is important because as it stands right now, I do not see myself ever making showing a significant part of my life post-graduation. I really enjoy working with green horses and horses who are more challenging, as it can be a very rewarding task. It has helped my confidence grow and has become a way to ride in an environment where the color of my skin is not even a conversation starter. I would love to go into training horses as a profession and working with Robyn has been a step into that world. Back in September, although she has the sweetest ground manners, when I first started riding her, she would back and rear and even just drop and roll and do anything and everything in her power to not be worked. But watching her and helping her improve and enjoy being worked has been a reward bigger than any show prize.