After June 5, seniors of the graduating class of 2010 will finally be able to relax. With four years of high school completed, finals out of the way, and graduation under their belt, a long and calming summer will be awaiting before adulthood officially begins. For senior Brittany Stanley, however, the next chapter of her life will begin just five days after graduation. On June 10, Brittany will be en route to Vacaville, Calif., along with her seven-year-old Swedish Warmblood horse named Lily.

“My original plan was to just not go to college,” Brittany said, “but it’s really hard to make it financially in the horse world. So I figured I would take a year to go and do what I’ve always wanted to do, and then come back and go to school.”

Training horses is a passion that Brittany has had her whole life.

“I honestly think her first word was horse,” Brittany’s mother Patsye said. “She was not playing with dolls, she was playing with little ponies and barns. Instead of a dollhouse, her grandfather built her a barn. That’s all she’s ever been interested in.”

In Vacaville, Stanley will be working under trainer Christiane Noelting at one of the most successful training facilities in California. Brittany and Noelting specialize in dressage, a competitive form of horse training.

“Dressage is so precise that no matter how good you are, you can always get better,” Brittany said. “It never gets boring.”

Many people were shocked to learn that Brittany would not be continuing on to college immediately after high school. Students that know her around FHN know Brittany as an extremely diligent student, with a high GPA and clean record. Along with being ranked 11th in her class, this year Brittany is also taking AP Lit, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics 2, and AP US History. Even more so, there is a stigma that students choosing to “take a year off” after high school will never really go back to school. But Brittany, her family, and her teachers all know this will not be the case for Brittany. In the fall of 2011, Brittany will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study biochemistry and animal science in hopes of becoming a veterinarian. In addition to a highly ranked vet school, one of the key reasons Brittany chose UW-Madison is because Noelting’s trainer lives close to the campus. Brittany will continue her work with horses even during college.

“This isn’t something that she decided on a whim,” said Laura Montgomery, one of Brittany’s favorite teachers. “She’s struggled with this since sophomore year. She knows what she’s doing.”

Patsye says that she sees two sides of her daughter: the side that loves to learn and has a craving for knowledge, and the side that truly loves horses. While Brittany wants to fulfill both sides, it is just a matter of which comes first.

“I’ve always known what I wanted out of life,” Brittany said. “I’m determined to get there. I know that when the time comes that I need to go back to school, I will.”