Horses have always been a big part of Warwick native Michael Janson’s life, and he has big equestrian goals in mind moving forward.

Janson graduated from Boston University and is currently a financial advisor for New York Life. He also helps run Zanger Hill Stables, a horse breeding and developing center that is operated by his family including his mother and sister in Berkeley, Massachusetts.

“We do it all, for us it’s all about working with quality horses. I have big goals, I have goals to continue to train, compete and show. Hopefully that brings me to a level where I can start competing in international events. We look all over the place to find quality horses, whether it is breeding them ourselves, bringing in others, or looking at other places like South America to import them so we can train them in jumps,” Janson said.

Janson has enjoyed a successful career competing for different teams, including Boston University, and won many New England competitions since he started riding at 5 years old. His ultimate desire is to one day compete internationally at a level as high as the Olympics.

“I’m on the horses every day. I want to compete in international competitions like the Olympic games, the World Cup Final – competing in those are definitely personal goals for me. I just need to continue to find quality horses, I have a great string of horses now … it’s a talented group. We just need to keep training them to improve and push the business forward,” Janson said.

The family business currently has 10 horses on the farm and looks to continue to see its numbers grow. Part of the reason he chose to work for New York Life was having seen first-hand the financial struggles that horse families often go through, especially when owning their own farms.

“That’s one reason why I joined New York Life. I want to help as many people as I can, and I am able to now help a lot of horse people. I saw a disconnect in the horse industry, I saw a lot of horse breeders, trainers, families not have the financial protection that they needed. Looking at our own business and family, I knew they were at risk. From that perspective, I really like the core goals and mission of New York Life and it gives me an opportunity to help people in my space,” Janson said.

As he continues to run the day-to-day operations on the farm, Janson is thankful to be able to do what he loves while also working alongside the people he loves.

“Horses have always been a part of my life. But as I got older, my mom did a really good job of finding good horses, importing horses and creating the business from there. It’s a full-blown family affair. It’s a privilege to be able to work with my family every day, the people I care most about. I am very, very lucky,” said Janson, who also feels that New England is rich in equestrian talent. “I think people close to where I am is a pretty horse-savvy area. People in New England really pride themselves on horsemanship. You can see that with the amount of people involved in the sport and the skill level. People really do show a great deal of consideration for their horses and horsemanship.”