Emily's Off to the Races!

Emily Moran has been riding horses since she was around 4 years old.  We'd go to Van Saun park at least once a week in the summer to ride the miniature ponies. 
When she was in kindergarten, one of her friends asked her to go to "horse camp".  They went together for 2 weeks. Not only did Emily begin learning to ride English, but she also began learning how to take care of a horse.  I went there on parents day and watched this little girl pushing a thousand pound animal from side to side as she brushed, groomed and picked its hooves.
Emily continued to train, perfecting her craft to the best of her ability.  When we vacation, Emily likes to do some research to find a stable.  She takes these lessons to get a new perspective on her riding.  She has taken lessons in Jupiter, Florida, New Orleans, Louisianna, Nashville, Tennessee and Lexington Kentucky.

Because we don't own a horse, Emily's opportunities were limited and as such has moved to a new stable every couple of years.  In the first week of May, Emily decided it was again time to move on.  She made some calls, visited some barns.  She found a place in Hunterdon County that shows Arabian and half Arabian sporthorses.  During her first lesson the owner asked Em if she shows.  She said, "No".  When pressed as to why, she said "mostly for financial reasons."

After the lesson, the owner pulled Joe and me aside and said, "Your daughter has some real talent.  I think with a few tweaks she could do very well.

The next upcoming show would be in Elmira, NY.  It was a double qualifier, meaning that two regions in the Arabian Horse Association were represented.  The owner of the stable made us a generous offer.  She said if Em wanted to go as a working student, she would waive her fees, we would just have to cover the entry fees.  Em worked that weekend from 6:30 each morning until 9:00 at night to cover her costs. She competed in 36 classes with field sizes ranging from five to nine riders.  Emily rode away with two champion ribbons, one reserve champion, 2 medals, 5 blue ribbons and 7 red ribbons (2nd place).  Not bad for her first "A" rated show.  I was told, "Your daughter is very good.  I mean scholarship good."  She qualified for AHA Youth National Arabian and Half Arabian Championship Horse Show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as well as AHA Canadian National Arabian and Half Arabian Championship Horse Show in Brandon, Manitoba ( about 2 hours west of Winnipeg) in just one show. Quite an accomplishment!

Emily is a working student at the barn this summer.  She gets a small stipend to cover gas and incidentals, but the real payoff is that her riding and lessons are all included.  She works from 7:30 in the morning until the job is done.  Some days that's the late afternoon; some days it could be 8 or 9 o'clock at night.  She is exhausted, but loving it!

Please help us defray the cost of getting to these events.  Not only will this be a great competetive experience, but the opportunity to win college scholarship money to further her education is also a key goal.

The cost for both events is roughly $10k.  We're trying to raise $2,720 to cover some of the costs. Please support Emily in this venture.

Thank you!