The Thriving Equine Professional | Career Connections, Equine Industry Resources, Career Advice. · JodiSpeaksLIFE: Speaker, Career Success Coach, Podcaster

77 | Finding Your "Why" in the Equine Industry with Stephanie Smith

·41 min·2 clips

Stephanie Smith says, “do it scared,” and asks what if you do a great job.

1. The Thriving Equine Professional episode with Stephanie Smith centers on her move from equine science student to Oklahoma extension educator. 2. Stephanie Smith, a 2023 University of Kentucky Equine Science and Management graduate, joins Jodi Lynch-Findley, founder of Jodi Speaks Life, to talk about her first year out of college. 3. The episode asks how a first-generation student from Virginia found a career path in Kentucky and then carried it to Oklahoma. 4. Stephanie says she started riding at about six, volunteered after school at a local barn, and worked with rescue horses. 5. She explains that choosing the University of Kentucky came after researching equine programs nationwide and visiting campus in winter. 6. Stephanie describes being first generation in her immediate family and says the move to Kentucky was terrifying because her family did not know what to expect. 7. COVID shaped her freshman year, and she says small College of Ag dorm cohorts helped her build friendships and support. 8. She spent a semester volunteering at the Kentucky Equine Adoption Center and later worked for a trainer in Shelbyville with gated horses. 9. UK required job shadowing, and Stephanie says she originally thought she wanted equine assisted therapy. 10. A guest presentation from Krista Lay led her to a summer pasture evaluation internship, followed by a second internship with Krista and Dr. Smith in extension. 11. Stephanie says the pasture work made her interested in grasses, forage, and the idea that ranchers are really “raising grass.” 12. She says the outreach internship helped her decide that she wanted to be a county educator, which is the term used in Oklahoma. 13. Stephanie defines extension as the outreach arm of a land-grant university and says Oklahoma has educators in all 77 counties. 14. She explains that extension moves university research into the public through newsletters, social media, articles, consultations, workshops, and testing. 15. Her examples include livestock tips, horticulture updates, USDA tagging regulation changes, prussic acid alerts, and hay, soil, and water testing. 16. She also describes helping producers connect with specialists, NRCS, USDA, and cost-share programs for issues like cross-fencing and erosion control. 17. Jodi’s interview style is conversational and mentoring-focused, with repeated check-ins about first-generation experience, networking, and career confidence. 18. Stephanie’s tone stays reflective and practical, and she speaks in direct advice such as “do it scared” and “write it in pencil.” 19. Listeners interested in equine careers, extension work, or first-generation college paths will likely get the most from this conversation. 20. Listeners looking for a polished career map or heavy technical equine science may skip it.

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