A Leg Up
August 3, 2009
One AQHYA member gets a little financial help toward showing at the Ford Youth World.
Andra Anderson snaps a photo of her daughter, Rebecca, with Tracy Ross with Jackson Land & Cattle. (Journal photo)
Andra Anderson of Gothenburg, Nebraska, wanted more than anything to let her daughter, Rebecca, show at her first Ford AQHYA World Championship Show. After several years of trying, Rebecca had finally state qualified her mare OK Shes Unzipped in showmanship.
“We’ve tried several times with the horses we were able to purchase, and we had very bad luck,” Andra said. “We ran across a horse that had some issues that we were able to afford to purchase. She’d never been shown before.”
After all the hard work to qualify, Rebecca deserved a shot at showing. But to haul the whole family down Interstate 35 to Oklahoma City with horse in tow and stay there for more than a week was too much for Andra’s pocketbook.
And that’s where the Jackson Land and Cattle Youth World Show Assistance Program stepped in. Since its inception in 2005, the program has helped nearly 170 AQHYA members make it to the Ford Youth World. This year, more than 60 applicants like the Andersons received funds toward travel and lodging expenses.
“It helped in that I was able to make sure that my other daughter (Ebony) got to come,” Andra said. “It was going to pay for my motel while I was here. It was a really nice feeling to be able to feel that we could come and financially do what we needed to.”
Now Rebecca will walk through the Gateway of Champions on August 6 for the showmanship prelims.
“I just want to do really good,” the 13-year-old said with a smile.
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“The money’s going to the right people,” said Tracy Ross of Jackson Land and Cattle Co. in Jackson, Wyoming. “Especially with the economy the way it is, to be able to give a little bit matters a lot.”
The program is funded through the Fields Family Foundation, a non-profit organization created by Richard Fields, owner of Jackson Land and Cattle. It’s one of many ways that Richard helps young people from supporting 4-H and high school rodeo youth in Jackson, Wyoming, to sitting on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“With the youth in AQHA, it’s a great experience: building, turning kids into exceptional young adults,” Tracy said. “It’s an amazing experience for them.”
To apply for the Jackson Land & Cattle Youth World Show Assistance Fund, exhibitors need only to fill out an application, which is available through affiliate youth advisers or can be downloaded at www.aqha.com/youth.
Christine Hamilton
Editor
American Quarter Horse Journal
Check out photos from the fourth day of the 2009 Ford AQHYA World Championship Show. Click on the photos to see the captions. Some of the photos are available for purchase at the AQHA Photo Store.
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