R6AQHA
R6AQHA Youth Page
R6AQHA Youth Website Links
Connecticut QH Youth Association
Massachusetts QH Youth Association
New Hampshire QH Youth Association
Quebec QH Youth Association
AQHYA Secretary Jocelyn Tanner NHQHYA@aol.com
Kayleigh McDonnell, VT
Bank of America Racing Experience
WOW, what an experience!!! Yes, the 2007 AQHYA Racing Experience was one of the best times I have ever had!!! – There was A LOT of work to prepare for the education we were about to receive, but this trip was worth every minute of the hard work!! It took a lot to get there but when I achieved it, all was great.
It all started a couple of years ago when our Youth Advisor asked at a meeting if there was anyone interested in the “Racing Experience” to let her know. Well, no one really knew what it was, but a good friend of mine decided she wanted to know what this event was all about. So with the help of our Youth Advisor she started researching it and she decided she wanted to apply, and she did and she was picked. She had such a great time, and came back and shared her experience. That is when I decided I would give it a try when I was old enough.
Lucky for me, AQHYA made changes to the program, and I was old enough!!! The process started, you had to fill out an application, you had to write a 500 word essay and then your application went in front of a group of AQHYA people to be approved & accepted. The wait was intense, but then the letter finally came, I had been accepted!! I was so excited; I was going to sunny
California!! After we were accepted we received this huge workbook worth 450 POINTS that had to be completed before we arrived. I spent many hours working on that. Then when we arrived we received another workbook that we could work on with each other and our assigned trainers that were very helpful and learned a lot from. I was able to clean stalls, brush the horses, put them on and take them off the hot walkers, bath them, learn how they wrap their legs and how to saddle for practice. We also
had another written test and a barn test, all this work but so much FUN & education about a different discipline of the American Quarter Horse. My trainer’s horses did win a few races so I was eligible to go down and get my picture taken in the winner’s circle which was another great experience.
I had the pleasure of going with Leah Thomas and Krysta Gawet of Vermont. It was nice to have 3 Region 6 Youth attending. Leah was also a recipient of a $2000 Scholarship!! YEA LEAH!!! Scholarships were given to the top 4 scorers on the 2 workbooks, written test & the barn test.
Again, another great experience with AQHYA and one that I will never forget. Not only was the education AWESOME, but the life long friendships that are made make my experiences even better. Region 6 youth, go on the AQHYA website and download the information for the 2008 Racing Experience and apply, you will be happy you did!!!!
Jocelyn Tanner
Region 6 Director
AQHYA Youth Excellence Seminar & Convention
AHQYA sponsors a Youth Excellence 
Seminar each year in June. This is one of the GREATEST experiences any youth could have with AQHYA!!! Each year is better than the previous!!! In 2007, Region 6 had youth present from NH, CT & VT, we all had an AWESOME time!!! We have always had wonderful motivational speakers, leadership workshops & educational workshops along with some really FUN team building activities!!! I feel Y.E.S. is TRULY a life changing experience!! Every youth is always WELCOME to attend!!!
Along with all this fun, there is also some important business conducted at the AQHYA Convention part of the conference. This is where your AQHYA Leadership Team is picked. Each state can bring up to 4 voting delegates, and these voting delegates are the voice for your state when voting in Regional Directors & AQHYA Officers. Three Delegates are selected from each Region to represent that Region for the year. Even this is fun!!
AQHYA Team is ALWAYS welcoming for the new folks and the AQHA home office team are ALL GREAT PEOPLE!!! I know I wouldn’t miss a Y.E.S. Conference!! Be there in 2008, make your plans now for June 19th – 21st
BE IN AMARILLO, you will be happy you did!!
R6AQHA Youth Directors
From Maggie Fortune:
Hello Youth of Region 6! This year, as one of your AQHYA Regional Directors. I worked with fellow directors Abbi Reiber and Courtney Mull to represent our corner of America for the Quarter Horse Association. As excited as i was to jump into this role, i soon discovered the underbelly of the somewhat daunting task that lay ahead: I truly was the voice of Region 6. Although I was fairly nervous to take on this role, my nerves were quickly calmed by the accepting, welcoming youth around me. I was able to speak with various youth from across our region, and I soon developed a sense of our members’ wants and needs. To fulfill these, Abbi, Courtney and I held a Regional Conference and set up a regional website. My proudest achievement, however, was getting the chance to learn from members of Region 6’s youth. I was able to make new friends, and more importantly, I was able to voice their concerns. I hope that throughout this year I have been able to reach as many Region 6 youth as possible, whether it be by supporting their cause or just being a friend. As this year comes to a close, i would simply like to thank all of the kids in Region 6: you all made this year an incredible learning experience!
From Jocelyn Tanner:
Hello, My name is Jocelyn Tanner, I am from Webster NH and a current Region 6 Director and President of NHQHYA. I am so excited to be your Director. I have been an active member of NHQHYA for 9 years, and I am also active in my County 4-H club. As an AQHYA NH delegate for many years I had set my goal to become a director because of what AQHYA had to offer the youth of Region 6. My first trip to Amarillo, was just amazing, and I wanted to come back and share my excitedment with everyone. With Region 6 being such a small Region, I knew we could be come united and work together as one big group, and we are on the right track. Please know that I am your voice to AQHYA. Goals that I share with you as a Region 6 Director would be to have another Region 6 Leadership Conference, to continue to unite as a Region and I would like to have Regional activities through out the year. I would also like to start a Regional Email newsletter. Again, I am so excited to your Region 6 director, please feel free to contact me at any time with your ideas, questions and concerns. I look forward to serving for you.
From Courtney Mull:
Hey guys, its Courtney here! Throughout this past year I have learned and developed many different organizational and leadership skills that have allowed me to grow as a person and hopefully into a better leader. I just want to take the time and thank all the youth and adult members of Region 6 that gave me this great opportunity; I have met some amazing people along the way who have helped shaped my outlook on life. Being paired with the other two directors- Maggie Fortune and Abbi Reiber, felt like a dream team. We worked so well together and were able to complete Nicole Rudolph's (past director) dream of hosting a Region wide youth conference. In my thoughts we surpassed all goals imaginable, opening the conference up to not only Region 6 AQHYA members, but 4-H and FFA youth members as well. In this coming election I will be running for re-election as your Region 6 Director. I know I am ready to pick-up where I left off with more knowledge and experience gained from this past year. I have so many new and exciting ideas to help our Region soar into a bigger and better future!
Other Links
AQHYA Racing Experience
AQHYA Youth Excellence Seminar & Convention
