Grace Gerbus is a senior for South Dakota State from Pendleton, Kentucky. An animal science major, she competes in Western on the Horsemanship lineup for the Jackrabbits. She comes from a big family with collegiate athletic backgrounds, and plans to go into veterinary medicine. A multi conference and national academic honoree, Gerbus will graduate this May from SDSU and has a career-high score of 75.5. This is her story. 

I didn’t grow up in a horse family. In fact, I was 11 years old the first time I rode a horse. Despite not getting into the equine world until adolescence, I had always adored animals. It’s this love of animals, my passion for horses, and my interest in the animal human-bond that kickstarted my interest in wanting to become a veterinarian.

In my youth, I was always very focused on school. Participating in collegiate riding was never something I considered myself “good enough” for. I grew up showing Pony of the Americas, then transitioned to paint horses, then quarter horses as I started doing more competitive showing. Though I saw success in the show pen, it didn’t feel like it was the right amount to qualify me for being a collegiate rider. However, one day when I was riding with one of my trainers, Spencer Groth, he brought up the idea of riding in college to me. I went home and immediately started looking at schools. After Spencer put the idea in my head, I couldn’t get it out. I had a feeling that being a collegiate rider was something I needed to do, something I was made for. My mom, a former collegiate swimmer, and my dad, a former collegiate soccer and track and field member, were hesitant at first. They knew my end goal above all else was becoming a veterinarian, and they didn’t want a collegiate sport to get in the way.

As I started the recruiting process, albeit late as a junior in high school, I constantly battled with my desire to be a veterinarian and a D1 athlete. I had veterinarians, college coaches, friends, and even strangers tell me that I couldn’t be a D1 athlete while prioritizing academics to the extent that I desired. They told me that if I tried to ride horses in college, I wouldn’t get into veterinary school. I specifically remember one individual telling me that “Many riders find college academics very hard to balance with athletics. A college student’s GPA usually drops a whole point from their high school GPA. I’m not sure you’re up for the challenge.” I felt so frustrated after hearing this and I never forgot it. I had a 4.5 high school GPA and knew this wouldn’t be relevant to me. However, when you look at it, this logic makes sense. College classes are a lot, and that’s without lift, practice, team meetings, rehab, traveling, and volunteering. Moreover, veterinary school is harder to get into than medical school. Admission to vet school is so competitive that only ~3,500 seats are available in the United States each year. Meanwhile, there are over 20,000 seats available per year for human medical schools. In fact, many of the schools I applied to this year to had less than a 10% acceptance rate. But I knew I wouldn’t let this stop me. I’ve always faced things labeled as “difficult” head on, and I’ve always believed that someone telling you “You can’t” might be the very reason why you should.

When it comes to facing challenge, I was born doing so. I was born at only 27 weeks gestation. I had 3 holes (shunts) in my heart that failed to close, which resulted in a 100-day NICU stay as a preemie, then heart surgeries, hospital stays, and even now cardiac monitoring, chronic illness, and doctors’ appointments. One could say that I’ve been chasing after challenge my whole life, simply to survive. In this way, I knew I wasn’t going to listen to anyone tell me that I couldn’t do something just because it would be “diWicult”. My parents have always taught me that doing diWicult things and leaning into discomfort is what makes you grow. So, I simply knew that I could, and I would, no matter what it took me. I knew that if I was meant to become a veterinarian, God would make it happen. I knew that If I was going to be a successful D1 athlete, He’d make that happen too.

Not only has God made my dreams reality, but He has made them so much better than I could have imagined. I write this after getting accepted into five veterinary schools in my first cycle of applying, which is truly such a blessing. It takes the average student 3 cycles to get accepted into just one school. I can confidently attribute much of my success to being a D1 Equestrian athlete at South Dakota State University. Being a collegiate equestrian has allowed me to hone my riding skills, taught me how to lose gracefully and how to win humbly, and has allowed me to discover the true meaning of being a team player. I learned better time management skills, shadowed veterinarians, became a teaching assistant, made the dean’s list all semesters of my undergrad, won scholarships, volunteered as a surgery assistant, and took part in clubs all while enjoying my passion of riding horses. SDSU’s animal science program is one of the best in the U.S., which gave me unique opportunities in classes such as ultrasounding cows, working on horses, doctoring pigs, performing necropsies, and more. In addition to abundant academic opportunities and success, I’ve been blessed with athletic success while at SDSU: A career high of 78 in the horsemanship, more than 5 MOP awards, and being voted in as team captain for two years. Beyond these, I believe my biggest accomplishments while at SDSU have been starting a team bible study, bringing my teammates closer to God, and inspiring others to never give up.

All in all, my journey to becoming a veterinarian and my experiences as a collegiate equestrian at SDSU have provided me with invaluable memories, opportunities, and lessons. They’ve taught me that success isn’t determined by the circumstances you’re in, but how you persevere despite them. True “winning” isn’t in the most points or the best grades, but about leaning into what’s diWicult, overcoming challenge, and approaching anything in front of you with determination. I’ve learned that a successful life is not one that is obstacle-free, but one where adversity is taken as a privilege and a blessing from God. No one can take your passion, determination, positive attitude, or your work ethic away from you, ever. If you want something, chase after it whole-heartedly. Embrace the diWicult things, the things you’re not sure you’re capable of or qualified for, because you’ll grow and achieve more than you could ever imagine. And, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” -Matthew 6:33