2017 Fritz Recipient: Sarah Yawata

Having participated in this program once before, I was honored and excited to be selected again. Just the change in temperature coming from a frigid Pennsylvania winter was enough to get me energized. Having young professionals like myself gather together from all over the country was such an empowering experience. It was invigorating being in good company with world-class speakers eager to share their knowledge and advice with us.

One of my favorite speakers from both programs I attended was Hilary Moore. She spoke on balancing personal life with career. It was helpful to hear about her journey and how she discovered what worked for her. The first time I heard her speak, her son was just a baby and she had expressed uncertainty in finding her next step to take with both her family and her business. It was encouraging to hear how she had gone through that stage and arrived at where she was today.

My biggest take away or advice from Hilary was this: What you are doing now and in the future should be getting you at least one of these things- Money, Experience, and Exposure.

Here are a few more pointers I took from Hilary's session:
•        View bad days as just a bump in the road to your end goal
•        Manage your day so it makes you the best person you can be
•        Know your limits
•        Have multiple back-up plans in case of emergencies
•        Create a nest egg to support your horse lifestyle
•        Do other non-horse things and have non-horse friends!

This year's sessions had a lot of open question time, which I found very valuable. Often a peer asked a question that had already been on my mind so we were all able to benefit from the answer. It was such a special opportunity to be able to pick the minds of this sport's top professionals: George Williams, Endel Ots, Kasey Perry-Glass, Ali Brock, and David Marcus, to name a few. Every speaker was so giving with their time and they all offered their contact information for us to ask for help in the future. I am proud to be part of a community like this and plan to pass along my own experience to our younger generation of horsepeople.

What stood out to me the most was hearing how different everyone's path had been to get to where they were, whether that was the USDF president, competing at the World Breeding Championship in Europe, going to the Olympics, and everything in between.

“Keep perspective that you are on your own path. Your journey will not be like the rest.” - Ali Brock

We heard business advice from every angle: financial management, marketing, equine law, sponsorship, and even social media. Much of it was not complicated, but was also not usually the type of instruction you might get from your own trainer. It was removed from the riding and training, but so integral to someone who wants to be a professional that lasts in this industry.

Roz Kinstler addressed us candidly in her session on customer service and ethics. She talked about planning a realistic schedule and went into details such as prioritizing your own horse since it's often the easiest one to let slide, and giving yourself days off. Roz placed emphasis on becoming a part of the horse community in your area and making time to volunteer at events. Every bit of her session was a tidbit of applicable advice.

One of the big questions for me going into the program was about the importance of having a horse of my own and if that was needed to make it or break it. More than one speaker talked about this and so I was able to gather a well-rounded answer for myself. Ali Brock and David Marcus talked about the importance of having a suitable personal horse to learn on. They also said that you shouldn't bankrupt yourself to get that horse right away, so it could be a future goal to have. Pam Goodrich and Ali Potasky warned us to not put everything we have into just one horse. I really liked what Pam had to say about finding a horse for yourself: “Sometimes you can find a horse that's not mainstream, but it’s your mainstream.”

That and so many more of my questions were answered all in one weekend, even questions that I didn't know I had! I headed back home fully motivated to get through the rest of winter and to finish the plans I had begun to create in that conference room.

I would like to thank everyone at The Dressage Foundation for their help and support. It was great to meet many of you in person! Thank you to our many wonderful speakers and the USEF and USDF staff that gave us so much of their time. You are so appreciated. And of course, a big thank you to Carol Lavell for providing the funding that got me to this program!