Scholarships - Parelli Foundation

Career Scholarships

Overview

“In order to change the world, it is imperative that we have well-trained, knowledgeable natural horsemanship equine professionals around the world. These professionals – who are teaching, demonstrating, and exemplifying natural horsemanship principles – can have a significant impact on countless horse owners each and every day.”

Since the Scholarship program’s formal inception in July 2010, over 1 Million Dollars has been awarded to close to 200 deserving students. (Includes amounts awarded through our predecessor, the Horsemanship Fund.) We look forward to continuing to assist natural horsemanship professionals on our shared mission to create a better world for horses and humans through natural horsemanship education.

Why Scholarships: Scholarships help in the development of future natural horsemanship professionals. Through scholarships, the Parelli Foundation is increasing the number of highly qualified instructors, horse development specialists, equine practitioners, and competitors who will touch the lives of students and equine enthusiasts around the world.

Dollar Amounts: The amount of the scholarship varies and is usually a percentage of the total cost of the course that the student will be enrolled in. In most cases, partial tuition scholarships are provided; therefore, if you are seeking a full scholarship, we recommend finding additional financial support outside of our program.

Criteria:

Applicant must be at least 18 years of age at time of application (younger applicants, please look into our Future of Horsemanship Scholarship Program)
Potential professional impact within the horse industry: How the funding received will help “Create a better world for horses and humans through natural horsemanship education”
Have a documented Pay-It-Forward plan. Impact on the Parelli Foundation Program areas of the applicant’s Pay It Forward Plan. Applicants shall be asked to identify the organization(s) where their hours are being donated.
Documented financial need.
Applicant’s financial request will be weighed against the Parelli Foundation’s budgetary limitations.
Applicant’s overall plan including travel, lodging, boarding, visa etc.

Pay it Forward: Scholarship applicants commit to participating in Pay It Forward activities such as donating instruction or horse development services to youth groups, therapeutic horsemanship programs, horse rescues, veterinary hospitals, mounted police units, and other equine organizations.

The scholarship program and its efforts are an integral part of the future of the Parelli Foundation.

Scholarships and Application

Career Scholarships and Application

Additional Information regarding Equine Talent and Career Scholarships

Applicants are encouraged to apply for scholarships for learning opportunities that meet one or more of the following criteria:

Course qualifies the student to become a natural horsemanship professional, through a documented licensing or exam process
- At the present time, our focus is helping those students who have already shown talent and dedication and are in the final phases of their education.
Continued Education for a natural horsemanship professional for special or advanced study
Advancement as a Professional in one or more of our Program areas which includes: Youth Horsemanship, Therapeutic Horsemanship, or Horse Welfare
A proven competitor promoting natural horsemanship through competition.

All applicants should be certain that they meet the qualifications for the course or competition they are requesting a scholarship to support. For instance:

If the course is to study with Pat Parelli at one of the Parelli Campuses, an application process that must be completed with Parelli Natural Horsemanship and verification that the student has been accepted for the course must be included with the scholarship
If an applicant is requesting tuition for the final year of veterinary, equine sciences, or related study, documentation from the college indicating the student has completed prior years of study and transcripts must be included.
If the applicant is requesting assistance to obtain an advanced certification with an organization like PATH, evidence of basic certification is needed.
If the applicant is requesting support for competition, all competition information, including qualifications and proof of meeting qualifications and plan for travel, etc, must be submitted.

Special note to our international friends: The Parelli Foundation is a United States company. We provide scholarships for students to study in the United States. If you are located outside the United States, you may apply for a scholarship to study in the United States. However, we are sorry that at this time we are unable to provide scholarships for students to study outside the United States.

For an advance look at the scholarship application, Click Here. (This is a PDF version which is not available for actual use. The live application will be available when the submission period begins.)

Applications for Career Scholarships will be accepted from October 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023.

Some of our Recipients

Scholarship Students 2016: Michele Pagliaro, Silvia Donzelli, Irene Greco, and Matteo Patti

Scholarship Students 2018: Ramona Vierheller (Germany) and Tanja Dominioni (Italy)

Tanja Dominioni “Paying it Forward”

2013 Recipient 2* Parelli Professional Debbie Adcock

2013 Recipient 3* Parelli Professional Jody Grimm

scholarship_students_2015_alesssandra_katie_bianca_makenzie

Scholarship Students 2015: Alessandra Fenzi, Katie Lund, Bianca Sassetti, and Mckenzie Courtney

2018 Recipient Kari Bowser

2013 Recipient 2* Parelli Professional Nancy Slater

2013 and 2016 Recipient Former 3* Parelli Professional Erin Fowle

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is a promise that you will use your education from the Parelli Foundation to help the world become a better place for horses and humans. Pay It Forward multiplies the impact of every scholarship dollar.

Scholarships make an education possible for qualified students who could not otherwise afford to attend a professional track or pursue a career as a natural horsemanship Professional.
Scholarship recipients Pay It Forward by providing education to staff, volunteers, and participants of non-profit programs that are dedicated to youth horsemanship, therapeutic horsemanship, and horse welfare.
The programs help the Professionals grow in their own horsemanship through real-world experience with a variety of horses and humans.

All Applicants: As part of their scholarship application, applicants are required to make a specific commitment to support one of the Foundation’s areas of focus by providing service hours within one to three years of receiving their scholarship. The number of service hours based on the amount of your scholarship divided by $50. Your hours will be reported on our tracking form. We encourage you to send us descriptions, photos, and/or videos of your pay-it-forward experiences. This will encourage others to do the same.

Binding Agreement: When a scholarship is awarded, the recipient signs a binding agreement that outlines the number of service hours required, how the service hours will be performed, and the date by which all service hours must be completed. In the rare instance that the service hours are not performed, the recipient is required to repay the full amount of the scholarship, plus interest.

Have YOU been PAYING IT FORWARD????

If so, please complete the Pay It Forward Report to tell us about what you have been doing!

How to Pay It Forward:

Scholarship applicants have some flexibility in how they design their Pay It Forward commitment helping youth horsemanship, therapeutic horsemanship, or horse welfare programs. You determine how and when, and tell us your promise! Be realistic; yet stretch yourself in how you can help. This will be one of the elements that the Scholarship Committee considers in reviewing applications.

Some examples:

Volunteer a half-day every two weeks at a local horse rescue to help prepare horses for adoption homes.
Volunteer at a therapeutic horsemanship center for one day per month to play the 7 Games with the horses, and to teach the staff more about how the horses are communicating.
Host or volunteer at events throughout the year to raise funds for the Foundation.
Volunteer to help a natural horsemanship youth program or 4-H club.

Inspired? Ready to get started? Visit the Scholarships page for an application form and instructions.

It is expected that your Pay It Forward commitment can be accomplished in one to three years after your course work. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Track Your Pay It Forward Hours

Inspiring Stories

Jody’s Story – One of Love and Commitment

3* Licensed Parelli Professional Jody Grimm-Ellis’s story is unique and beautiful, yet it is not unusual to find such fabulously similar individual stories in the Parelli family. It is a story of love—and the sweat and commitment behind it—of those who wish to truly make a difference in the lives of horses and the people who love them.

Scholarship Recipient Spotlight – Kari Bowser

Kari Bowser is a 2-Star Licensed Parelli Professional from Quebec, Canada, who recently received a $2,000 scholarship that she will apply toward the costs of attending Pat Parelli’s Mastery Program. ‘“Receiving this scholarship means more than just the money”, says Kari. “It was such an amazing feeling when I got the news to know that the Foundation and others had a belief in me that warranted this scholarship.”