Working Towards a Bright Future by Taylor McKinley

WORKING TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE balancing academics and athletics with college student, equestrian, and future lawyer Nichaela Noebe

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THE ACT OF BALANCING Strategies for Success with Nichaela Noebe Balance, commitment, and time management

Not only did she continue showing throughout

are keys to success. Nichaela Noebe knows

high school, but she also played soccer and

all about this, as she finds ways to balance her

softball. Playing sports requires dedication

academics and athletics in order to achieve her

- part of that dedication being working out

goals. Nichaela Noebe is a twenty-one year

3 times a week. Her secret to success was

old college student with an interest in law. She

getting as much work done in the study hall

prides herself on her academic achievements,

as she possibly could before working out,

graduating high school with Suma Cum Laude

eating dinner, and attending soccer or

in the top twenty of her class. Adding onto this,

softball practice.

she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political

There were a few changes in Nichaela’s

Science, Philosophy, and Economics with a

schedule transitioning into college, but the

minor in Pre-law.

underlying ideas of balance and dedication

Showcasing her commitment to achieving

remain the same. With the pandemic, Nichaela

her goals, Nichaela completed her bachelor’s

moved on from soccer and softball, leading

degree in only 3 years. Nichaela hopes to

her to focus solely on school and horseback

attend law school and eventually become a

riding. This made time management easier,

lawyer. She puts in the time and dedication

but it did not stop her from practicing it. Being

needed to follow this path, currently attending

an equestrian is still a huge commitment,

grad school obtaining her MBA. Nichaela

especially when it comes to competing. In

estimates this to be completed in 10 months.

order to maintain good habits, Nichaela finds

In terms of athletics, Nichaela has competed

time to work on school work between showing.

in multiple sports with her main commitment

She credits time management and the ability

being horseback riding. Her equestrian career

to pull all-nighters as her best strategies

began when she was a little girl and has been

for success.

a huge part of her life since. She recalls this saying, “I sat on my first horse when I was 2 ½ years old”.

Nichaela was forced to find ways to balance her commitments of sports while still putting in the effort and maintaining good grades in school.

She details this experience recalling,

“It was very demanding for me, but I could balance it all and still get good grades”.

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A FIGHTING SPIRIT The Strengthening of a Bond Through Hardship As mentioned previously, horses have been

At the age of 9, Nichaela sold this horse

a huge part of Nichaela’s life for as long as

to move on to a more challenging and high

she can remember and it won’t be going away

energy steed - the American Saddlebred.

anytime soon. It all started with her uncle. When

Nichaela currently has two show horses

talking with Nichaela, she detailed how her uncle

which are both American Saddlebreds. Her

used to have horses and was actually the one to

first horse is named Frosty. Frosty is fifteen

give her a Kentucky Spotted Mountain horse,

years old and very versatile, just as her

her first horse. She had this horse for much of

Kentucky Spotted Mountain Horse was. He

her childhood up until age nine, and credits this

can do saddleseat, hunt seat, and western.

horse with teaching her how to ride.

Nichaela’s Kentucky Spotted Mountain Horse also kick started her successful show career.

When she was six years old, she piloted this horse to win the SMHA versatility award. This accolade is a big deal and was awarded at the Kentucky Horse Park. Nichaela recalls this experience: “...my horse won the versatility award for being versatile in western, english, halter, and trail obstacles and being able to be ridden by different people”.

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“We competed against people from all over the country.”

What sticks out about Frosty is his hardiness

Further illustrating his perseverance and

and perseverance. Throughout the years,

fighting spirit, Frosty has had a few close

Frosty has developed many health issues

calls with death. The severity of his health

including being diabetic and anemic. It has

issues have contributed to these encounters.

been a tough journey for Nichaela and Frosty

Thankfully, he has managed to pull through

as they fight together through his issues.

time and time again. He has proven he can

He cannot eat sugar and is limited on carbs,

still show and be used to teach young kids

meaning he cannot eat the foods that most

to ride. She states on this topic, “I’ve had

horses can. Horses with these issues lose

Frosty for almost 11 years, and we’ve grown

blood circulation to their feet and oftentimes

up together. Not only has he impacted my

go lame. This results in a horse being unable

life, but he has impacted a lot of lesson kids

to walk or stand.

and taught them so much”. They have a bond that cannot be broken and Frosty has proved himself to be worth his weight in gold, whether it is teaching lessons or winning classes at large saddlebred horse shows.

Frosty’s close encounters with death have only strengthened the bond Nichaela and him have.

“He is my heart horse and forever will be”.

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WORKING FOR IT The Commitment of Competition As Frosty is being used more often for lessons, Nichaela has turned to her other horse, Oliver, for showing. Oliver is fourteen years old and is known to always be happy. He loves to work and always gives it his all when showing. Nichaela refers to Oliver as “her special boy”. Something unique about this horse is his ability to do two special gaits - the slow gait and rack. In other words, he is five-gaited. The slow gait and rack are very smooth gaits that only select horses can perform. Performing these gaits can be very demanding for the horse as it requires a lot of stamina.

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Nichaela has had Oliver for seven years and he lacks the health issues that Frosty has.

Oliver is usually shown in five gaited, saddleseat classes. Recently, Nichaela has taken up the challenge of showing Oliver in multiple disciplines. As of right now, she shows Oliver in both the saddleseat and hunt seat divisions.

He has been doing extremely well in both.

Nichaela views this as one of her largest accomplishments, as some people doubted it could be done. He has become a crowd favorite among many.

In Nichaela’s words

“He has been extremely well in both disciplines and has caught many people’s attention. Some people have said he can’t do both, while many applaud him”.

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STEP BY STEP Putting in the Work to Succeed When asked about her short term goals, Nichaela wishes to compete at Lexington Junior League, a high level competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park, with Oliver in the hunt seat division. She also has the goal of competing with Oliver in Louisville at the World Championship horse show, and ultimately obtain a World Champion title. In order to reach these goals, Nichaela recognizes the dedication and commitment she must put into it. This ties back to her strategies for success as she plans on working with Oliver and fine-tuning their skills with lessons from her horse trainer.

When asked about what advice she would give to those new to showing, Nichaela said “The biggest advice I tell my academy kids who are just starting out with showing is not to expect to do well right away. Showing is hard to do, and it takes time and patience. I have been showing my whole life, and when I started, I did not always do well. It took a lot of practice to get where I am now…You’re going to have some really good shows, some okay shows, and some really bad shows… as long as you have a great show in your mind, that is all that matters”.

Horse showing can be difficult and requires a lot of patience, dedication and love for the sport.

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A BLUEPRINT Nichaela’s Biggest Inspiration When asked who she looks up to, Nichaela brought up Todd Bloss, a horse trainer and friend of hers. Todd and his wife have a similar lifestyle as to what Nichaela aims to do. Him and his wife, Kellie are school teachers and administrators by day and horse trainers at night. They balance their day by working a full eight hours at school before coming home to take care of horses. The Bloss family have a very successful horse business and are well known. Despite the challenges they may face, they still manage to get up, take care of their horses, train them, show, and make time for their family. Nichaela said “I strive to be like them one day. I want to be a lawyer by day and a horse trainer at night while still making time for my family”.

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They are living proof that it can be done.

A BRIGHT FUTURE Following the Path to Success In terms of career related goals, Nichaela wishes to finish grad school and eventually apply to law school. When asked where she sees herself in the future, Nichaela aspires to be a successful lawyer and horse trainer.

Specifically, a healthcare lawyer. It doesn’t have to be one or the other as long as the work is put in. This relates back to balance and finding ways to succeed in multiple aspects of life. To reach these goals, Nichaela will take the steps of graduating law school, getting a job as a lawyer, investing money, and eventually using that money to buy a farm of her own and horses.

Her ideal career would be to

“practice law during the day and train horses at night”.

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