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National
Reining Horse Youth Association
Youths
of the Year Scholarships
Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma – January 17, 2011 – Since 2007, the National Reining
Horse Youth Association (NRHyA) has offered youth reiners an online
program that rewards members for their leadership and community service
activities outside of the show arena. The Varsity Reining Club (VRC) was
established to engage youth members and encourage them to become active at
both the local and national level. This program offers NRHyA members
opportunities to contribute to their association and develop valuable life
skills.
Going into the fifth year of this
program, VRC will continue to prepare NRHyA members to be successful,
contributing members of society.
Youth members are awarded points by doing
any combination of projects listed at vrc.nrhya.com.
Each youth can submit activity reports in a variety of subject areas they
find fun and interesting such as arts and crafts, photography or can be
awarded for their volunteer work in their community or for helping out at
shows. Other subject areas encompass creative writing, fundraising or
leadership activities, including holding or attending NRHyA meetings.
In 2010, VRC offered more scholarship
money than ever before to reward members for work in their communities as
they fought for VRC’s most prestigious award, “Youths of the Year,”
which recognizes the youth earning the most points. This year, 13 youth
will be recognized and $5,000 in scholarships will be awarded for their
efforts.
In the Varsity level (ages 14-18), the
top eight individuals split $3,500 in scholarships. First place was earned
by Evergreen, Colorado's Christi Gordon who accumulated 3,065 points by
submitting more than 150 activities including arts and crafts,
photography, report back and community service with a variety of
organizations including baking pies for the Loving Hands Food Bank,
helping with the Slammers youth baseball league and sharing her love of
horses with kids and the Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado. She
also spent many hours conducting meetings and fundraising activities with
the Rocky Mountain Reining Horse Youth Association.
Second place went to Alexis Daggett of
Montello, Wisconsin who submitted more than 100 activities and earned
2,232 points for her work that included pitching in at shows in the North
Central Affiliate and earning good grades while in school where she also
volunteered her time tutoring students.
VRC member and past NRHyA President,
Jordan Willette of
Prescott
,
Arizona
earned third place honors and 1,015 points for her 80 submissions.
Fourth place went to Grand Junction,
Colorado's Taylor Sturm who earned 905 points and submitted more than 45
activities including pitching in at her local shows and volunteering time
at a homeless shelter.
Samantha Belcher of
Carbondale
,
Colorado
earned fifth place and 825 points by helping at shows, reporting the
results, and conducting meeting to spread the word about NRHyA in her more
than 40 submissions.
Sixth place was
Petaluma
,
California
's Nicole Hupke with 780 points and more than 25 submissions including
good grades, community service, photography, fundraising and arts and
crafts with her submission of pointillism of a horse.
Tara
Power of
Katy
,
Texas
earned 615 points and seventh place with her more than 10 community
service submissions which included volunteering with the children’s
ministry at her church.
Rounding out the Varsity scholarship
earners was
Bettendorf
,
Iowa
's Laura Green in eighth place with 410 points for her activities in
community service, pitching in at local shows and earning good grades.
In the Junior Varsity level (ages 13
& under), the top five individuals split $1,500 in scholarships. First
place goes to Amy Stoney for the second consecutive year. Earning
over 1,000 points more than she did in 2009, Stoney totaled 3,245 points
and turned in more than 300 submissions. Amy showcased her talents in
photography with numerous equine photos from her family’s ranch
Stoney’s Performance Horses in
McClave
,
Colorado
. She also presented activities in fundraising, creative writing, good
grades and pitching in for her work with the Rocky Mountain Reining Horse
Association.
Second
place was earned by Reilly Quist of Delta, Colorado with her more than 25
submissions totaling 855 points in photography, community service, good
grades and her arts and crafts submissions which brought home honors in
the 2010 NRHyA Derby Art & Photo Contest.
Stillwater
,
Oklahoma
's Emma Holbrook placed third with 615 points for her more than 15
submissions in creative writing, pitching in and community service for her
work with the Oklahoma Special Olympics.
Fourth place was Courtney Yohey of
Modesto
,
California
with 597 points for her activities in creative writing and participation
with the West Coast Reining Horse Association including fundraising,
attending meetings, pitching in at shows and reporting on activities with
articles in the NRHA Reiner magazine.
The final scholarship earner for the
Junior Varsity level is Delta, Colorado's Saeda Quist with 495 points for
her work in arts and crafts, attending meetings, earning good grades and
her community service activities with her local soccer club.
For
more information on the National Reining Horse Youth Association’s
Varsity Reining Club, please visit vrc.nrhya.com,
find NRHyA at facebook.com/nrhya
or contact 405-946-7400 and youth@nrha.com.
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