Bureau Valley students named Arabian Horse Foundation scholarship winner

The Arabian Horse Foundation announced Ryley Egan, a senior at Bureau Valley High School and a member of the Region XI Arabian Horse Association, has been selected as a winner of the 2024 Don Thompson Arabian Horse Foundation Memorial Scholarship.

The Arabian Horse Foundation awards scholarships to high school students that have represented the Arabian breed in a positive manner, have performed well in their studies and have been excellent members in their communities.

Egan has been a member of the Arabian Horse Association for the past 10 years and has been actively showing and promoting the Arabian breed. In 2023 Egan was the recipient of the Maryln Anderson Region XI Youth Ambassador award. For the 2023-24 year she served as the Region XI Youth co-director and has worked to increase the outreach and engagement of youth members and perspective members throughout Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

Egan will spend her summer competing in her last year as a youth rider and is looking forward to the annual Arabian Horse Youth Association Board Meeting in July in Oklahoma City. After the AHYA board meeting, Egan will head over to the Jim Norick Arena to compete among the nation’s best riders at Arabian Youth Nationals.

In the fall, Egan will be off to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado to pursue a bachelor of science degree in equine science, with hopes of later attending the College of Veterinary Medicine. She hopes to work as an equine veterinarian so she can give back to the industry that has given her much joy the last 10 years.