E.E. Cummings once said, “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” Growing up in AQHYA molded and shaped me into the strong individual I am growing into. With the 2016 Youth Excellence Seminar going on right now, it brought back memories of how timid and insecure I was at my first Youth Excellence Seminar in 2012. I clung to the back of the room and stayed where I was most comfortable, but by the end of the week, I gained the courage to talk to the officers and directors. I am not going to lie, it was scary to talk to unfamiliar faces, but once I did my life changed for the better. I aspired to be just like them: powerful, confident and sociable.
Being a small town girl from Minnesota, it was hard to get people involved on a national level, but I wanted to achieve the impossible. The next year I encouraged my state to travel to YES; we had a fabulous time and I achieved one of my goals of becoming a Regional Director.
One of my favorite memories from my directorship was when Mark Mowbray, Ashley Anderson, Lindsay Brush, Austin Bond and I were stranded in a canyon with no cell service during Officer/Director bonding. We were left there for five hours. We laugh at it now, but at the time we were all exhausted and irritated.
In 2014, I became the Sentinel for AQHYA (pictured, far right). During my term as Sentinel, I learned how to communicate with my peers, became much more comfortable with public speaking and presenting myself to adults. I had the opportunity to travel and promote AQHA because of my Officer position; I traveled to Washington D.C. to speak about AQHA’s Public Policy to state representatives and Palm Beach, Florida at the IEA Nationals.
Without growing up in AQHYA, I would not be as good at maneuvering around in airports as I am now. To anyone attending their first excellence seminar, I strongly suggest to go out of your comfort zone and meet new people. You are all there because your love for the American Quarter Horse. It does not matter where you come from, or what you have accomplished in the show pen, everyone will respect you and is willing to make new friends. Have the courage to step out of your box; it may help you become your true self.
I am not the only person that AQHYA has impacted. I had the opportunity to talk with past AQHYA Presidents Kalee McCann, Mark Mowbray and formerly active youth member Lauren Halvorson Daniels (sister of past AQHYA President Austin Halvorson) about how growing up in AQHA impacted their lives not just by showing, but also the leadership seminar (Y.E.S.)
Kalee McCann
Kalee McCann, a 20-year-old from Sebastopol, Mississippi started her love for AQHYA when she was six years old when began showing lead line through the Mississippi Quarter Horse Youth Association. As she grew older she progressed to all-around events, as well as cutting and reining. Kalee said, “My parents have always been involved with horses and immediately got me involved with Mr. Tom and Mrs. Suzy McBeath and Miss Aprille Watts who introduced me to the horse show world and all AQHYA has to offer.
“Those five people have been my biggest supporters since the very beginning,” Kalee said. AQHYA had an impact on Kalee’s life on several levels and has made her into the person she is today. It has “definitely been a major asset in my life.” She said the friendships and memories she made during her time with AQHYA are ones she will cherish for the rest of her life.
During Kalee’s time as an AQHYA President, she “wanted to instill in everyone the confidence that they can do whatever they set their mind to. My parents have always told me to chase my dreams and because of that positive reinforcement I accomplished my dream of becoming AQHYA president.”
Kalee (pictured right) was also a competitor on the 2014 AQHA Youth World Cup Team, which was being sanctioned with the YES Conference in College Station, TX. She said, “It was the best week of my life. Team USA won Gold and I was elected AQHYA President along with my childhood best friend, Mary Claire Cornett, being elected Vice President who was on Team USA as well.
“Shortly after that, I was also recruited onto the Texas A&M Women’s Equestrian Team. Little did I know that upcoming year would change my life forever.”
Kalee’s advice for anyone attending their first Youth Excellence Seminar is to meet anyone and everyone. She said, “My first year I sat in the back and maybe spoke to 10 people. People that know me know that I’m not a shy person by any means but I was so overwhelmed by the number of people there that I was speechless. So go talk to everyone and you’ll be so glad you did. Enjoy every minute of it and take as many people as you can because it is worth it and time flies by. AQHYA is a one of a kind association and if you let it, it will change you just like it changed this small town Mississippi girl.”
Mark Mowbray
One of my best friends, Mark Mowbray from Rhodesdale, Maryland, currently serves on the AQHA Youth Activities Committee and was the 2012-2013 AQHYA President. He has had multiple top ten finishes and a Reserve World Championship at the AQHA Youth World Show.
Mark is a senior at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina where he studies Forensic Psychology and is on the collegiate IHSA Western Team. Mark’s passion for AQHA grew after he attended a regional leadership conference that was put on by AQHYA Regional Directors in Pennsylvania a few years ago. He said, “They made me feel very welcome and pushed me to run as a regional director the next year at the AQHA Y.E.S. Convention. All of my trainers and my parents pushed me to go further in the association. What influenced me most, however, was definitely my love for the American Quarter Horse. I have had a love for every horse that I have shown and I wanted to promote that love for the future of the breed in others.”
Because of his love and dedication to this association, he and his amazing group of officers (Bailey Mierzejewski, Lauren Diaz, Austin Halvorson, and Jordan Boyd) were able to start so many initiatives. They started interacting actively with the international youth members in becoming more involved with the Y.E.S. conference which resulted in adding new youth directors from “Region 11”, and creating a freestyle exhibition for horsemanship, showmanship, and reining at the Youth World Show.
These projects would have been impossible if it wasn’t for the innovative minds on the officer and director team. With all the incredible experiences Mark had as president, his favorite memory was being at the AQHA Youth World Cup in Germany as a member of Team USA. He said, “It was an incredibly humbling experience that I was honored to be given. I also cannot forget the countless memories that we made as an officer team, we were truly a family.”
Mark (pictured far left) believes AQHA has bettered his life in so many ways. He added, “If it wasn’t for AQHA and the experiences through showing and the countless leadership opportunities that I was given, I do not know where I would be in my career. I have learned about so many aspects of life through AQHA, like patience, understanding, and work ethic through showing and leadership, teamwork, and time-management through my term as an officer and director.”
Mark’s best advice to those that are attending the Y.E.S. conference for the first time is to “enjoy the moment, take it all in and meet as many people as you can. Go and talk to other youth that has the same passion for the American Quarter Horse as you do. Meet the candidates and listen to their speeches, think about running for a director position next year. If you are running, be yourself. “Being yourself is a huge part of the election process, people value a true personality. Make friends. Have fun. Leave knowing at least five new people, you might just meet your future best friend.”
Lauren (Halvorson) Daniels
Lauren Daniels is the daughter of Wayne and Rebecca Halvorson. She has won multiple AQHA world and reserve world championships along with Congress championships during her nearly 20 years competing in AQHYA and AQHA competition.
From her experiences at the YES convention, Lauren encourages, “People to go there to learn, meet new people and have fun.” She added that not everyone may want to run for an office, and that’s okay. Lauren’s little brother (Austin) was an AQHYA president, but Lauren never ran for a national office because she claims she “was shy.”
Even with her shyness, Lauren found there are other ways you can get involved at YES. Everyone can take on a different role. She said, “You meet so many incredible people and hear all these great ideas. There are many things I learned at YES that I took home to my local organization or just applied to my everyday life.
It’s also a great opportunity to make friends with people you may have never met at just the horse shows.” She took the things she learned from YES and applied them to her time on the Oklahoma State University Equestrian Team. Lauren helped her team win National Championships and Big 12 Championships, as well as earning All-American Honors in Western Horsemanship.
With growing up in AQHA, we build friendships and make memories to last a lifetime. Having not only shows, but leadership seminars such as YES to help members gain confidence in themselves is benefiting so many people. It does take courage to grow up and even more courage to find out who we are, but being an AQHA kid is something that should make us grateful.
