Shiloh sharing an affectionate moment with her horse Pistol.
It was a sweltering 95 degrees in Joppa, MD when Emily Shiloh’s advisor at the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) came to visit her at Olney Farm. The heat and humidity would be enough to make anyone tired but to also prepare thirty ten-year-old children for their summer camp lessons and supervise those said kids? Many would be exhausted by lunchtime. But not Shiloh, her advisor stated, “her positive, engaging attitude never changed.” For the entire hour, Shiloh was energetic and engaged with her advisor and the children at camp.
This is Shiloh’s first year at the IAA; however, she is recognized as a second-year student. She completed her first year at Harford Community College, which has a program that prepares its students to transfer to the IAA. At the IAA, Shiloh is majoring in Agricultural Business Management. Shiloh says, “I chose ag business management since I knew it would give me good life skills and would have the broadest topic range.” She lives in Forest Hill in Harford County, MD, and does not come from an agricultural background. In fact, she is the first member of her family to take an interest in agriculture. Her love for agriculture stemmed from working with horses at a young age and being a part of Future Farmers of America since high school.
Shiloh completed her required internship at Olney Farm, an equine boarding and training facility that specializes in the equestrian discipline of eventing. Shiloh has been working here since she was in 6th grade, getting promoted to a higher position each year. Shiloh chose to complete her internship at Olney Farm because “If I were to run an Ag business, it would likely be set up similarly” to Olney Farm. Her advisor felt Olney farm was an excellent fit for her internship, “It is centered around a horse community” which Shiloh is passionate about and “creates a learning environment” that supports her eagerness to learn. She currently boards and trains a five-year-old off the track thoroughbred mare Pistol on the property. Her passion was clear to her advisor when she watched Shiloh call Pistol from the fence line and kissed her on the nose.
During her internship, her main tasks were caring for, managing, and preparing lesson horses for the farm’s summer camp. The summer camp involved a lot of planning, more than Shiloh was expecting. "Just organizing kids to be camp helpers took me quite a while" Shiloh stated. Some of her other tasks included daily chores such as feeding, watering, and turning out horses. Shiloh stated that her favorite task was filling up buckets and tub with water because it was done either late in the evening or early in the morning. “It was quiet, and I was typically alone while working. The sunrise and sunsets were great.” Her manager at Olney Farm loved having Shiloh on the farm because she rarely ever needs to give directions. “When she sees a need, she does it. She has an initiative and doesn’t need to be told what to do.”
After working at Olney Farm, Shiloh realized that managing an equine facility may not be her true calling. She states that she “would rather keep this as a place of pleasure.” Instead, Shiloh would like to explore the equine nutrition field. Her plan may involve working at feed company to combine her love for horses and agriculture. But that’s not all, Shiloh has also considered being a veterinary technician or working in the reproduction field. “I love babies” said Shiloh. Her future career may be uncertain for now, but her advisor is confident that she has the drive and proactiveness to find her true calling.
