Megan is the Fall 2021 OYES Horse Show awardee sponsored by Dreamers & Schemers.
My name is Megan Rollins, and I am a 17-year-old equestrian in St. Albans, W.Va. I’ve been in love with horses for as long as I can remember, and I first started my journey in the equine industry in May 2017. Since then, I’ve challenged myself with training and riding as many horses as possible and learning anything and everything I possibly can to become the equestrian I aspire to be. I currently have several horse-related goals, my biggest ones being training rescue horses while learning more about the management aspect of running a rescue and shadowing a professional trainer. Some of my smaller goals I’d love to accomplish include getting more experience in the racking horse world (especially speed racking), catch riding/training more horses and getting into the show ring more. A few of these goals were pushed back for a while, but thanks to Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship and the “Horse Show Award” from the last round this summer, I was able to show for the first time in September at a local show. I showed two racking horses I had never met before until the day of the show and ended up with a second place in my juvenile extended gait class. After the unforgettable day and experiences I had thanks to OYES, I found a new passion, and I reconsidered what I wanted to do with horses. It made me realize I really do want to get more serious about riding racking horses. I don’t just want to do it for fun anymore. I want to learn more and get good at it. I never would have had the opportunity or been inspired like that had it not been for OYES and the award I received this summer. I’m so, so grateful, and I can’t wait to see where my journey will take me because of it.
As for future dreams and plans, I hope to eventually run a boarding, training, lesson and sales barn, specializing in training rescue horses. I am also working hard towards purchasing another horse to compete and trail ride with as I haven’t owned since my heart horse, Major, passed at three years old in July 2018. Owning again is really my biggest goal, but I know that it just isn’t reasonable at this time. This is why I want to better myself as much as I can before I am finally able make that dream come true. Until that day comes, I will continue to educate myself as well as work as a stable hand and pet sitter to make sure I am fully prepared.
I would say some of my biggest struggles have been financial. So many things in this sport revolve around how much money you have (or don’t have). Many people will tell you if you don’t have money, you won’t get anywhere and that you shouldn’t waste your time. It is insane how much things cost in equestrian sports today. As a teenager who only has so many hours available after school and on weekends to work, as well as someone who didn’t grow up in a horse-oriented family, this has been a big struggle. My parents are extremely supportive, but they have also always taught me that if I want something, I have to work for it. Sometimes, there just isn’t enough time to make the money I need for riding. And, because I am the only person in my family who rides, I rarely get instruction or help from anyone unless I can afford lessons.
I have also struggled with mental health challenges, especially after Major passed. Since then, it’s been one thing after another. One month after Major passed, a horse I had worked with since the very beginning, Ella, passed. The horse who helped me heal after Major and Ella, and my other heart horse who I had fostered for two years, Legacy, was then moved without warning to a different foster location, and I haven’t seen her since. After that, I tried working with three more horses, each time the horse leaving for a new foster home (after I had said I was willing to foster them). Then, after much consideration, I left the rescue. It absolutely broke my heart to leave the past three years behind, but it ended up being for the best. I still found a way around though, and everything was going great for a while. I was giving lessons. I was training and riding several horses a day. I was even fostering a feral colt for a program through the rescue at a different foster location. But just when things started going right, the lease to the barn was given up unexpectedly. Training and riding horses was gone. Giving lessons was no longer an option. My foster horse who I taught from the ground up left for a new foster home hours away from me. Everything was shut down. Several special horses have passed within that time, too, which unfortunately, is a part of rescue, and is a downside of working with and loving so many horses. All of this has been exhausting, especially on top of my mental health not being so good to begin with.
However, horses are sometimes the only thing keeping me going, and I’m nowhere near ready to give up just because it’s hard. My love for horses, training, and rescue has also inspired me to try and make a living out of my passion. I found that Potomac State University in Keyser, W.Va., has a Sustainable Agricultural Entrepreneurship (SAGE) program with a focus in equine management. I ended up taking a tour of the campus, and I think I would love it there, especially after talking with some of the students from the SAGE program who also ride. The SAGE program and the focus in equine management seems like something that I’ll really enjoy and help me accomplish my goals and dreams. That’s why I hope to get accepted into Potomac State and start attending school there in Fall 2022. With this program and a degree in applied science, I can do so many different things with my life, including running my own barn and helping horses in need.
Through Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship, I am hoping to connect with people who can help me learn more about racking horses and people who can help me find opportunities to ride more horses and get more hands-on experience. While my goal is to get into speed racking, I’d also love the opportunity to ride performance/padded horses as it doesn’t seem to be a common discipline where I’m from, and I think I would have fun with it. I am willing to try anything though and simply want to learn as much as I can! OYES has helped me tremendously in just a short amount of time. Without your help from the last round of scholarships, I never would have had the opportunity to show. I never would have had the opportunity to compete alongside some of my closest friends. I never would have found my new passion. There are so many things that I would have missed out on had it not been for OYES.