The $1,000 Champion of Equine Service Academic Scholarship is awarded to volunteer Champions (volunteers who log a minimum of 24 hours), who have a GPA of 3.0 or above. The awards assist Champions in the pursuit of their undergraduate and graduate studies; the number of scholarships to be awarded annually is subject to funds available. Congratulations Joseph on your recent award!
"For as long as he can remember, Joseph Lehn has loved horses, and one of his oldest and fondest memories is riding a horse. Everything in his bedroom was horses, including the bedspread, curtains, Breyer horses, stuffed animals and posters on the wall.
Joseph is the middle child of five boys in his family and the only one with a passion for horses. Joseph begged his parents for a horse and every Christmas he peeked outside his front door in hope of seeing a horse standing there with a big, red bow tied around his neck. There was only one problem, for the first 14 years of his life, Joseph was allergic to them. Anytime he was around horses, his eyes would swell shut, his asthma kicked in, his nose started running, he broke out in hives, and sneezed constantly. Even pre-medication did not help subdue his allergies enough to be around the animals Joseph loved so much.
But, there was no stopping Joseph, and in August, 2017, he [found Ride On St. Louis].
At Ride On St. Louis, Joseph achieved his dream of working with horses and has made friendships that will last forever. Two girls, Katie and Maria, started volunteering at Ride On St. Louis around the same time as Joseph. Since then, the three have been best friends and they volunteer together at Ride On St. Louis on Saturdays. After their barn chores on Saturdays are completed, the friends enjoy a weekly brunch together taking turns hosting at each other homes.
Each time he has volunteered at Ride On St. Louis, Joseph has learned something new about horses and the environment that they live in. Throughout his time at Ride On St. Louis, Joseph has expanded his horizons and has started to look at different horse-related occupations that he may want to study in college. Given the opportunity to work with horses, Joseph learned what owning a horse involves and his dream is to one day own horses of his own.
Now a sophomore in high school, Joseph has started looking into equine degree programs to achieve his dream of working with horses as a career. Best of all, after being around horses so much, Joseph's allergies have subsided and he has been horse-allergy free for about a year!" - EQUUS Foundation
Thank you Joseph for all your volunteer work with Ride On St. Louis! We are so happy for you, your recognition in the equine community, and your well-deserved scholarship award through the EQUUS Foundation Champion's Program. Sponsored by Ariat International, the Champions program is an incentive-based equine service program to stimulate and reward volunteerism on behalf of horses.