Grace is the recipient of the Spring 2023 Dream & Scheme Horse Show Award, sponsored by Dreamers & Schemers.
My name is Grace Chung, and I am a 22-year-old equestrian from Saratoga, California. I am currently a third-year student majoring in Human Biology at Stanford University, and I compete on Stanford’s western equestrian team.
I’ve been horse-crazy since I was 3, begging my parents for pony rides and Breyer collectibles at any chance I could get. My family tried to support my addiction, paying for my lessons at the local hunter-jumper barn, but ultimately the lessons became too expensive for us to afford. Because of my family’s difficult financial situation, I never got the chance to ride consistently throughout my childhood. So as a teen, I began to volunteer at a local therapeutic riding barn, working with special-needs children and assisting them with basic horsemanship and horse care. I found this position to be extremely rewarding, as it gave me the opportunity to work with horses and share my passion for horses with other horse-crazy kids.
In college, I started my own business as an artist making custom horse portraits, and I also became a research assistant at a stem cell laboratory to pay for my riding lessons. During freshman year, I began riding at a western barn with retired reining horses, and this is where I found my true passion. I fell in love with Quarter horses, particularly for their honesty, their big hearts, and their athleticism, and sought to get one of my own. While I couldn’t afford anything with fancy papers or an extensive show record, I was able to acquire a quirky, retired western pleasure horse for free. An arthritic, barn-sour cribber, my horse Joey proved to be more of a handful than I had bargained for, and I often struggled to pay for his extensive maintenance. Still, I was able to accomplish many firsts on him, including my first patterns, first flying lead changes, (first emergency vet visits!), and first solo trail rides. He truly became my lifeline and my source of happiness, and I was proud of the team we became together. Although I often struggled financially as a horse owner, Joey taught me not just how to be a better equestrian but also how to be a better horsewoman–and what it means to put my horse first. After a few years of ownership, I was able to find Joey a stellar home where he could live out his days in a pasture as a family horse. Although our time together was short, Joey has made me the horsewoman I am today.
After rehoming Joey, I still wanted to improve as a rider–so in the fall of 2022, I joined the Stanford western equestrian team. Because I had no prior show experience, I began showing in the Walk-Jog division, and I unexpectedly placed 2nd at my very first IHSA show. Being in my university’s equestrian team has allowed me to ride tons of different horses of all backgrounds and abilities, from reiners to ponies to pleasure horses, as well as learn from many different trainers, and I have become a much more versatile rider as a result. Showing was one of my bucket-list goals, and as I think about my future show goals, I know the experiences I made at the intercollegiate level will help me when I show my own horse in the future.
Currently, my main goal is to continue improving my skills as a horsewoman and excelling further in the show ring as I continue to practice with my team in preparation for the next show season. I also have bigger goals of competing in ranch versatility, reining, or reined cowhorse with my next horse, and I am working with a ranch versatility trainer outside of Stanford to learn more about these disciplines as well.
Some of the main roadblocks to my current goals include finances: as a student on financial aid at my school, I have difficulty paying the dues necessary to continue being a member of the equestrian team. I pay $500 horse-use fees quarterly and $750 team dues yearly, and all of the money from the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship would be used to pay for my team dues and part of the quarterly dues in the 2023-2024 school year. Through this scholarship, I would be able to continue to both show and receive coaching. Paying these fees is the only way I can continue to compete as a college student, and this scholarship would greatly alleviate that need.
Additionally, as a queer Asian American equestrian, I have often faced scrutiny, exclusion, and racial discrimination from old trainers and fellow boarders and riders. I felt out of place growing up as a horse crazy girl and never seeing any representation of people of color in horse-related TV shows and media. As a first-time horse owner, it only got harder when I began boarding at a predominantly-white barn and experienced bullying from other horse owners. I am still usually one of the only minorities at IHSA shows, and not much has changed since I was little. However, I would like to continue occupying space in the equestrian community as a queer person of color, and I hope to inspire other horse people in marginalized communities to pursue their passions as well.
Within the next few years, my plans are to graduate and go to medical school to become a physician focusing on rural settings. I plan to continue being involved with horses and showing before medical school and beyond as well. Although I am not sure where my equestrian journey will take me, I am excited to continue learning and growing as a horsewoman, and I am proud to be a queer rider of color in the equestrian community.