LYNN — Recent Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School graduate Savannah Finnegan has set her future in stone with a recent Arabian Horse Foundation scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded to students entering the equine industry, whether it’s in business, becoming teachers, or scientists. More than 12 equestrian-related concentrations are covered by the scholarship, awarding more than $40,000 this year to youth.

Twenty-seven recipients, including Finnegan, will receive a one-time scholarship of $1,500 this year. The scholarship will help fund her animal science and equine science studies at the University of New Hampshire this fall.

“I was very honored to be chosen as one of the recipients,” Finnegan said. “It will definitely be a big help for me in my college journey. It’s very cool to win a horse scholarship because that’s directly related to my field, and I just feel so honored to be recognized in that way.”

Her love of caring for animals has been a lifelong practice, Finnegan’s mother, Melody Finnegan, shared. The whole family is known to be animal lovers, from dogs, cats, and now horses.

“When she connected with the horses, it was something special,” Melody Finnegan said. “It’s this bond that… you know, it’s hard to put into words when a horse looks into your soul, and I feel like she is at a point where once she got her hands on a horse, she was like, ‘That’s for me.’”

Her horse journey started only four years ago when she decided to leave her more than a decade-long dance career for horseback riding, Dru Madruga, Finnegan’s grandmother, said. That love of riding soon turned into a desire to care for them differently.

Finnegan started her horse veterinary track at Essex Tech, working hands-on through the equine program where she studied a variety of topics from basic equine care to in-depth veterinary care, including working on real animals who belong to locals.

“As I progressed through riding and through the equine science program at Essex Tech, I definitely learned that I love working with horses,” Finnegan said. “I wanted that to be my future, and I think that veterinary medicine for horses is just a great middle ground for all of my goals and my interests, and then my job experience has definitely solidified that for me.”

Starting in her second semester of junior year through the help of Essex Tech’s co-op program, Finnegan began interning for Dr. Bryan G. Parrott, an equine veterinarian in South Hamilton. Today, she has turned that co-op opportunity into a paid position working as Dr. Parrott’s assistant.

Madruga shared that she has been proud of her eldest granddaughter for her extremely successful academic career, where she has earned straight A’s since elementary school, and her membership in the honors society.

Working with Dr. Parrott has given Finnegan that definitive understanding that this path is meant for her.

“It solidified her realization that she wants to become an equine veterinarian,” Madruga said. “She loves horses. She loves riding; she loves caring for them.”

Finnegan’s horse, Quint, who she has leased from Chrislar Farm since March 2025, is a 13-year-old Friesian who acts like a Labrador retriever, Madruga mentioned.

“He can look a little bit intimidating because they’re pretty large physically, but the big ones are often the sweetest,” Finnegan said. “They’re just big gentle giants.”

Melody Finnegan even added that Quint absolutely adores Finnegan: “He follows her with his eyes. … He gives her body hugs, and just responds so well to her. It’s such a special and sweet bond.”

Finnegan has done and actively does much more than ride, study equine veterinary practices in school, and assist Dr. Parrott. She even recently took care of a woman’s horses over the fall while she was away, which kick-started local trust in her current and future practices.

“She’s a bit of an animal whisperer, in my opinion as her mom,” Melody Finnegan said. “I see how animals respond to her, and there’s just a special way she is with animals. … I always tell everyone: She is the pet whisperer.”

Finnegan’s main motivation to go into equestrian science and veterinary school in the future has been being able to speak for the horses, giving voice to the voiceless. Her favorite part of working with horses, however, is creating and deepening the bonds between them so the horses can fully trust her.

“Horses communicate a lot with their body language and their behavior. … I strive to be someone that listens to horses because sometimes by just slowing down and paying attention, you can find out a lot about how they’re feeling,” she said.

For the past four years, Finnegan had been part of the Essex Tech club, formerly known as Future Farmer Association (FFA) and now known as the National FFA Association, where she moved from junior president in her third year to reporter in her senior year.

After graduation, she gained a seat as a state parliamentarian of the Massachusetts FFA Association. This position has allowed Finnegan to step into her confidence in building connections in the professional world and honing her skills.

“She’s one of those special kinds of kids,” Madruga said.

Other than being a full-time member of the FFA for several years, Finnegan has done many community service efforts, including 12 years in the Girl Scouts and even volunteering at the Topsfield Fair’s apple cider stand.

Because of her volunteer efforts, the Topsfield Fair Society has also presented Finnegan with an annual scholarship that will go toward her equestrian and general animal science studies at UNH.

Dedicating her life to the veterinary sciences has not been all peachy, however. Finnegan has had to overcome an immense challenge: trypanophobia, the fear of needles.

Some criticized Finnegan, including herself, for wanting to become a veterinarian considering needles are used so often. She took that as a challenge that she was going to win, Madruga said.

“She had it in her heart, and she had it in her soul that she was going to get through this, and she wanted to do whatever she could to get over that fear,” Madruga said. “She watched lots of videos; she read lots of books; she watched her teacher and also their veterinarian there (Essex Tech). She did everything in her power to get over this.”

In her work, needles are used in everyday practice, whether it’s giving vaccines, drawing blood, or sedating a horse for a procedure, Finnegan said.

“Even talking about needles… I would just get uncomfortable,” Finnegan said. “Today, I don’t have any problems, which I’m very grateful for, but yeah, it was definitely a journey to get there.”

With university coming up in the fall, Finnegan looks forward to being close to home, near all her supporters and even the South Hamilton Barn. Her route is set up nicely with the barn being halfway between home and UNH.

“It’s nice that everything kind of worked out for me in that way,” Finnegan said. “Nothing’s too far, but I also have that freedom of going to college and becoming an individual, and I will always have my barn and my family to fall back on.”