What to do about this?

Well, I have to leave for a year and go to either Spain or Costa Rica for school. It is a neat experience. The college in Spain is on the Mediterranean and for a few euros, I can go to Paris, Germany, for the Switzerland for the weekend! The reason for this is because one of my majors is Spanish and it is required to spend a whole year in a country. I would rather stay in Latin America because I am More accustomed with the Spanish there and not the Spanish in Spain (They have a lisp.) So onward to my question. What do I do with my mare during this year? I have friends that could take her but a whole year?! I refuse to sell her and to lease her for that long would be... idk who would lease a horse for a year? Should I let a riding academy lease her or a riding college to use her for a year. I won't leave till the fall of 2012... Have any of you ever had a situation like this before? What did you do and how did you handle it? I'll miss her and everyone else. And no, I'm not going to pay tons of money and stress her out by taking her with me.