United States Eventing Association

Below is the winning essay of the 2015 Worth the Trust Adult Amateur scholarship. Congratulations to Ashley Armijo, and best of luck in the future!

As a relentless kid in high school, I was on my journey to a CCI* at NAJYRC, but my dream was quickly shattered when my mare had a very bad colic my qualifying year. I then enjoyed Eventing at the training level until college when I chose to take a break from riding and concentrate on school. Luckily for me, after college I ran into a friend of mine that offered me to ride one of her horses. Now I must admit after taking seven years off from riding and becoming an “adult,” I definitely was not as good of a rider as I remembered. “Fly” my new mount was so patient with me. After all the lessons of hearing “don’t lean, don’t throw your body, heals down,” we must have been doing something right because we qualified for The American Eventing Championships (AEC) two years in a row. Sadly, last November, Fly was kicked by another horse and broke his leg. I was devastated. My horse, my best friend, had a slim chance of making it. Should I put him down? Should I help him fight for a chance? After all my days of re-learning to ride, Fly never gave up on me and therefore I promised I wouldn’t give up on him. Being the program director of a therapeutic horseback riding program, I knew that miracles could happen. I did whatever it took to save his life. I tried natural herbs to ease his anxiety. I slept in a cot next to his stall many of nights so he wouldn’t be alone tied to a 12 x 12 box stall, and we even had volunteers come and massage his legs on a daily basis. After 16 weeks of ups and downs, I can happily announce Fly survived. Not only did he survive, he now has a new career as a therapeutic riding horse giving riders that have a disability a chance to put their disability aside and allow the abilities to shine.

So now that leads me to the current stage in my life. Horses are my life and therefore I had a very important decision to make…. Should I give up on eventing? Should I try to rehab Fly to jump again? Should I buy a new horse? Well what is more exciting than buying a new horse? I window shopped for many of nights and found some amazing horses. So that led me to the next decision… Buy a ready-made horse or take on the challenge of an Off the Track Thoroughbred (OTTB)? I help riders with disabilities, I helped my horse overcome a broken leg, and what would be more rewarding than saving an OTTB straight from the track. And that is exactly what I did! My heart knew that was the right decision and my finances strongly agreed! This scholarship would mean the world to me because I feel this is my opportunity to do something for me and most importantly to have fun. I now have a young fun horse, I have the desire to want to learn, and I will succeed.

I have goals of continuing the training of my OTTB named “Eli,” competing successfully, moving up divisions and continuing where I left off in high school. Naturally, adding up the costs to accomplish my goals is slightly intimidating. I chose my profession not for the money, but for the impact I can make on others’ lives. Unfortunately for me, I do not make a million bucks and I had a lot of very expensive vet bills to save Fly’s life. That was a choice that I would never change. With the donations of Fly’s supporters and use of Ashley’s horse fund, I was financially able to save Fly’s life. However, now, I feel limited on the amount of lessons I can take and I have to pick and choose what clinics I go to. What I would want more than anything is the opportunity to get the most training possible for me and Eli. I want this experience to be the greatest it can possibly be for us as a team.

I would use the funds to attend multiple clinics and receive regular lessons. Trying to be a successful Eventer is often difficult in the state of New Mexico. I travel to Arizona as often as money will allow to receive lessons from Arizona’s Frederic Bouland. Being able to develop a consistent lesson schedule would benefit Eli and I, and give us the opportunity to achieve our goals. I would also use the funds to participate in the Area X Adult Rider annual clinic as well as clinics in California and/or Colorado. The additional training will give me the opportunity to experience different clinician’s way of teaching and challenge Eli with different exercises and new atmospheres. Both components to success.

I would love to say that I can do this my myself, but we all know that is not true. Training is necessary for safety and success. This is my chance to overcome all I have been through the last year and actually enjoy the progression of goal accomplishment. I would love to make everyone that continually gave me motivational talks to “keep trottin” proud by receiving consistent training and being the best Eli and I can be. I look forward to hearing back from you and thank you for considering me in the 2016 Worth the Trust Scholarship application process.

About Worth the Trust

Approaching its 16th year, the Worth the Trust Scholarship continues to provide financial assistance for young adult amateurs and adult amateurs for the purpose of pursuing continued education in Eventing. This scholarship is provided by Joan Iverson Goswell in honor of her horse, Worth the Trust, a 15.3 Thoroughbred gelding (Wind and Wuthering x Stop Over Station), who competed successfully for many years with Karen O'Connor.