Apply to the Optimum Youth Equine Scholarship

Apply for the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship

The mission of the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship is to provide opportunities for youth aged 17-27 from marginalized communities to become involved or stay involved in horse sports through financial awards and mentorship focusing on not only horsemanship and equestrian pursuits, but also career planning and education.

Offered twice per year (spring and fall), one applicant will be chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship to be used in pursuit of their equestrian goals. Multiple smaller-sized awards are also available. All young equestrians aged 17-27 who are facing challenges in becoming involved or staying involved in horse sports are encouraged to apply.

how to apply

Applications are accepted through a Google Form or by emailing oyes@optimumequinellc.com with your application materials.

spring 2023 awards cycle

Applications open April 1 and close April 30.

One applicant will be chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship as well as $350 retail value in riding apparel fully sponsored by Kerrits Equestrian Apparel to be used toward their equestrian pursuits. Additional smaller-sized awards are available, and no further action is required to be eligible for these awards.

Additional Awards

– Reserve Champion Award – $500 to the second-highest placed applicant to be used in pursuit of their equestrian goals. Funded by friends of OYES.
– OYES Dream It Award – $150 in startup funds for an entrepreneurial equestrian looking to launch their own business within the equestrian industry. Funded by friends of OYES.
– OYES Travel Fund – $120 to go towards a young equestrian’s travel to shows, clinics, or working student opportunities. Funded by friends of OYES.
– Dream & Scheme Horse Show Scholarship – $125 for horse show entry fees, hauling costs, and/or show attire and equipment. Sponsored by dreamers & schemers.
– Dressage Dreamer Award – $150 to be awarded to one rider in pursuit of their dressage dreams. Sponsored by Optimum Equine.
– Platinum Stables Hunter Jumper Excellence Award – $250 to be awarded to one rider from the hunter-jumper-equitation disciplines to aid in their pursuit of excellence. Generously sponsored again by OYES Mentor and Platinum Stables owner Krissy Rohr and her family.

selection process

After the application deadline, the scholarship board will review the submissions and select the awardee(s) based on the following qualities:

– Clarity of goals
– Quality of application (free of grammatical errors)
– Proposed use of funding

The award winner(s) will be announced after the application closing date. Awardees will be featured on our website and social media accounts in our “Meet the Awardees” series, unless otherwise noted in your application.

Mentor pairing

After award winners are announced, applicants who wish to be paired with a mentor will receive information via email on who they area paired with as well as instructions on how to contact and schedule a virtual meeting.

Ongoing communication will be up to the mentor and applicant to decide upon, but our goal is that within these meetings, mentors can provide perspective on career choices, share resources and ideas to help further that applicant’s riding goals, or even connect applicants with potential opportunities within the mentor’s circle– opening doors for connections that lead to internships, jobs or meetings with helpful horse people from the applicant’s area.