In the Ring with Blue Ribbon Scholars

Meet Mira Korber, founder of Blue Ribbon Scholars. Created in 2019, Blue Ribbon Scholars is an educational program with the primary focus of helping passionate equestrians balance academics with competing and riding. Blue Ribbon Scholars features three main branches: academic support and tutoring, college admissions advising, and assistance with the NCEA recruitment process. Following a hybrid model, Blue Ribbon Scholars works with most students in person at the HITS Show Grounds in Ocala, Florida, and then continues collaboration via Zoom while students are traveling and competing across the country. Over the past five years Blue Ribbon Scholars has advanced and grown to help students far beyond the winter circuit, but now, let's get to know the brains behind this incredible organization .

What was your background before starting Blue Ribbon Scholars?

I graduated from Yale University in 2016 and then worked in investment banking where I helped corporations, banks, and countries in Latin America raise funds through public bond issuances. While I enjoyed working with clients in the Spanish language and being part of a fast-paced team in New York City, I didn’t have enough time to dedicate to my own riding, so I pursued a different avenue to make that happen. I also am really not a city kid! I grew up on a farm in New Jersey and competed in the tri-state area growing up. I started doing equitation and hunters on my pony and transitioned to the jumpers when my parents got me my first horse. I was able to buy my second horse in Ocala, Florida after I started working in finance. She’s thirteen now and I have had her since she was four! I am still showing her very competitively in the 1.20-1.30m divisions, and last year I imported a four-year-old who is my latest project in my bid to get to the Grand Prix’s (eventually!).

What inspired or prompted you to create Blue Ribbon Scholars?

I was always a big “nerd” who enjoyed academic activities. I started off really small just tutoring a couple of kids on the circuit and it grew from there. Blue Ribbon Scholars really started as a way for me to be able to work in an environment that also allowed me to be a part of the "horse world" so I could continue to train and compete myself.

What is one piece of advice you would give to an overwhelmed equestrian trying to juggle academics and riding?

Setting up structure is so important! Just the way we practice our flatwork and gymnastics exercises to be able to do better at shows, it’s essential to set aside time to learn academic material and ask questions so you can understand it to the fullest. Also, don’t write what you think the teacher wants to hear, write what you really think (when it’s appropriate, of course!). Finally, remember to READ! It will make writing so much easier. Read anything – articles in horse magazines or novels. Just let the words sink in and stay curious.

Your BRS values are sportsmanship, scholarship, and stewardship; why, and what do these words mean to you?

I wanted to infuse some of my own personal values into how Blue Ribbon Scholars operates. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture – being a thoughtful, informed, and reflective member of society – when your main focus is on winning, whether that’s a blue ribbon at a show or getting an A in a tough class. More importantly, remembering sportsmanship and scholarship can help place the emphasis on learning, growth, and positive personal development. Stewardship is another factor of success – do you take the best possible care of your horse? Do you have respect for other people and our environment? I see the horse world as a microcosm that can teach the importance of these three things if you’re willing to put in the work to do so.

What is something you do or strive to do that sets BRS apart?

I want students to feel responsible for their own success. While getting help can be necessary, it is not always going to be there. Learning to be self-reliant and figuring out what strategies work best for a student so he/she can be independent later in life is crucial!

Can you talk about your partnership with HITS and what their support does for BRS?

Working collaboratively with HITS allows us to make the exhibitor experience the best it can be; if students can show on the best footing there is, in a picturesque, horse-friendly environment, while also having the tools they need to succeed in school, I think we can give young people in this sport the tools they need to grow into tomorrow’s generation. For not only top riders, but business leaders, educators, doctors, public servants, philanthropists – really any field they could want to pursue.

What is something you hope all students that come through BRS take away/remember?

Do your best, but it’s OK to make mistakes! Learn from them and you will come out a stronger person.

Rapid Fire 🔥

3 things you can always find with you at horse shows....

 🔥Horse treats, my Helite air vest, and a photo of the course on my phone.

Favorite school subject?

 🔥 In high school, it was definitely English. In college and graduate school, I enjoyed History with primary source research.

Sweet or Savory?

 🔥Totally depends

One show that is on your dream horse show list?

 🔥Aachen.

Thank you so much, Mira, for letting us pick your brain for today's post! You can learn more about Blue Ribbon Scholars by clicking this link to access their website, or visiting @blueribbonscholars on Instagram! Anyone else you would like to see "In the Ring"? Let us know!!