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News in Our Community Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship Awarded Jalila Nazerali-Ruddy is the recipient of the Spring 2022 Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship, sponsored by Kerrits Equestrian Apparel!
overt and passive discrimination, based upon their race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Together, we seek to bridge this gap through the sharing of knowledge, opportunities, and solidarity. Jalila is a rising junior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. “I’m double majoring in education and psychology,” says Jalila. “In
Welcome to the world, Persephony. This adorable Thoroughbred/Holsteiner filly was born June 3 at Red Mare Farm in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Jalila Nazerali-Ruddy is the recipient of the Spring 2022 Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship.
The mission of the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship (OYES) is to provide opportunities for young adults ages 17 to 27 from marginalized communities to become involved or stay involved in horse sports through financial awards and mentorship, focusing not only on horsemanship and equestrian pursuits but also career planning and education. We believe that opportunities for riding, training, and showing are not easily attainable for individuals facing socioeconomic and accessibility hurdles, as well as 80
Community Horse Fall/Winter 2022
my twenty years, I’ve lived in four different countries — Uganda, Sudan, Tanzania, and the United States. My equestrian journey started around the age of five in Uganda, where I was born and lived for seven years. 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 began with pony rides, and during my years in Sudan, my mum became my instructor. While in Tanzania, the rides consisted of bush trail rides and slightly out-of-control beach rides. Once I moved to Vermont, I started jumping, but shortly after I moved barns and started working
