Equestrian Studies, Western Riding/Training Emphasis, and Equine Business Management Major
Hometown: Pella, Iowa
   
When Ryan Sims was looking for a college, it didn’t take him long to decide which one.
   
“I wanted to do the equestrian program, and none of the others could compare to the riding program here — the amount of time you get to ride, the quality of the instructors and the job placement opportunities,” he said.
   
Sims has certainly capitalized on his opportunities at Findlay: He was the 2008 Western Individual Open Champion and also won the national Open Reining title, and was a member of Findlay’s Western Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship teams in 2007 and 2009.
   
During last year’s competition in California, his favorite part was “the whole experience of doing it. It was fun to compete against kids from all over the country. They were from every corner!”

Winning the reining competition title qualified him to compete in the National Reining Horse Association in June 2008 in Oklahoma City during the Collegiate Ultimate Catch Ride. Sims was excited by the opportunity to compete in an event that draws professionals in the field. “The derby was really neat. All the big guys in the industry were there, guys you want to eventually compete against.”

As with the IHSA competitions, each of the competitors draws a horse and is judged on how well he or she handles the horse that is drawn. Sims placed third out of 30 competitors.
   
Sims comes from a background of training and showing horses, so he knows the challenges he is up against. “I’ve known for a long time that it’s low pay and lots and lots of hours,” he said. “If you’re going to do this, you have to love to do it.”
   
After graduation, he plans to return to Pella to work with his father in his business, training and showing reining horses, RS Performance Horses.
   
His schedule during school is already very demanding: He goes to the barn between 5-5:15 a.m., working until his first class, either at the University’s western farm or on campus, at 9 a.m. After classes end, he returns to the barn to teach freshmen from 2-5 p.m., then shoes horses in the community into the night hours, “and somewhere in there, I do homework.”
   
He advises freshmen coming in to take all their classes seriously. “Get everything possible out of it. Ask tons and tons of questions. This is your education: Take full advantage of it,” he said, adding, “Work really hard in your other classes too — that’s really important.”