2024 Scholarship Winners
Allison Kratzer
AAYHS Scholarship Foundation winner
My name is Alli Kratzer, and I am a senior at Georgetown Jr./Sr. High School. Throughout my years there, I have played varsity volleyball, been our FFA chapter reporter, been class secretary, and am a member of our National Honor Society chapter. Outside of school, I am also very active in my 4-H club and Junior Fair board and have been the Southern Ohio Equestrian Team (YEDA) president for three years now.
I began showing at the All American Youth Horse Show in 2022, and even though I have only shown there twice, it quickly became my favorite show. I truly wish that I had found this show before I did. In my two years showing here, I have shown four different horses. I have shown Travel N’ Man, a 17-year- old bay roan. We have competed in the ranch events both years and been in the placings both years. He used to be a small fry western pleasure horse, but we quickly realized that ranch is his niche. I showed a 17-hand horse, Stay Shining, in the English events last year, and I plan to show him again this year. I have shown Little Bit of Rodder and LazySexyCool in the western events each year, and we have been very successful.
The AAYHS has such a positive environment. Everyone is so uplifting, and never makes anyone feel discouraged. I love how this show brings people from all over the nation together to compete in a friendly manner. This show allows exhibitors to challenge their abilities and learn more with their horses while staying positive. To me, the AAYHS means bringing people together, encouragement, and an overall good time.
Next year, I will be attending Midway University. While there, I will ride on their Western IHSA team. My junior and senior year of High School I have been attending a community college. My goal is to graduate with an associate degree. This will allow me to double major in Equine Business/Sales and Equine Rehabilitation. I have always wanted to do something in the equine industry when I am older, and I feel as if these will give me that opportunity. Equine Rehabilitation has always fascinated me when I have seen different things being done to the horses at our barn and to other horses. I want to be able to help horses in pain and get them to feel better. I have always loved the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, FL. I would love to do an internship there one summer, and maybe eventually work full time.
Taylor Schoen
AAYHS Scholarship Foundation winner
My name is Taylor Schoen and I have had the opportunity to show in the All American Youth Show 3 times with my horse Poko Lizzy Belle (Dutchess) in various classes and one time with my miniature horse Cupcake for in-hand trail. I have shown at the All American Youth Horse Show on and off since I was 9 years old. I participate in basketball, volleyball, softball, FFA, and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). I was captain of the volleyball team and was awarded the spirit of the game award for basketball. I grew up with Dutchess and Cupcake, and in doing so, I created very strong bonds with both of them. I started showing at small shows in leadline before I could walk but one day my grandmother, Dutchess’s trainer, forgot to enter me in the leadline class so I begged her to enter me in my first walk/trot class. I was devastated. Dutchess broke down to a walk and I thought that I was going to get last. Little did I know that the other kid’s horse misbehaved so badly that he had to bring it to the center of the arena. I won my first class! From then on, I tried my hardest to never get upset during class and it paid off. When I was 12 and competing at the AAYHS in trail, Dutchess went over a set of poles at an extended jog and I thought that she completely missed the poles. I finished the pattern with a strained smile and started crying after I was done, convinced that I had blown the class. To my great surprise I got 5th place! I ended up doing my happy dance around Dutchess’s stall.
The AAYHS has taught me some very valuable lessons and having the opportunity to compete at this level always expands my knowledge and permits me to have an amazing time showing horses. My future plans are to attend Ohio Northern University and major in civil engineering. I want to become a civil engineer and get employed at one of the national parks in the U.S. I enjoy being outside and with animals, even wild ones, so I can’t think of a better career to have. That doesn’t mean that I will give up horses though. I am planning to become a 4H equine judge as soon as I graduate high school. I am excited to say that I will be attending this year’s AAYHS riding Dutchess and leading Cupcake. I can’t wait for the show to begin!
Macey Belmont
AAYHS Scholarship Foundation winner
Hi, my name is Macey Belmont, and I am a senior at Norwayne High School in Wayne County, Ohio. My main focus outside of school has been showing horses in 4-H, AQHA, NSBA, NYATT, and numerous open show organizations. When I’m not at the barn or a show with my horses, you will likely find me playing club and high school soccer, showing boer goats at my county fair, cleaning stalls at Bluegrass North boarding facility, or creating graphic designs for my company, VC Graphics.
The first time I attended the All American Youth Horse Show, it was a bit overwhelming. I was 9 years old, and it was only the third horse show I had ever attended, let alone participated in. When I arrived and saw the hundreds of horses and participants, I was extremely excited and nervous. My first class was Western Showmanship with my leased wonder pony, Danny. I came out with first place, smiles, teared up parents and trainer, and a feeling I will never forget! I know I was only 9, but there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to show horses the rest of my life.
I have brought at least one, if not two horses to the AAYHS every year since. I’ve had the fortune of competing in the Western and English pleasure classes for years and more recently the Ranch classes. This year I hope to add Western Riding to the mix.
Almost as much as I love horses, I enjoy any art project involving them. As a little girl, this started out innocently, as I drew horses on every piece of paper I could get my hands on. That evolved and I quickly found myself creating banners for other riders on my team, so they could decorate their stalls at the shows. Then in 2022 I was asked to put together a color advertisement for another competitor. It was placed in the AAYHS program and out of that experience, my company VC Graphics was born. This has led me to the decision to pursue a degree in Graphic Design from the University of Akron. My goal is to then use that degree to pursue a career in the equine industry creating graphic designs for social media, branding, and advertising.
Marley Grandini
AAYHS Scholarship Foundation winner
My name is Marley Grandini, and I am a senior at Riverside High School in Painesville, OH. I have been showing at the All American Youth Horse Show for several years, where I always compete in as many classes that I am capable of signing up for. Over the years, I have shown Hunter Under Saddle, English Equitation, over fences classes, English and Western Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, and trail. This past year I decided to add Ranch Riding, Ranch Rail, and Ranch Showmanship into the mix, and I am excited to continue it this year. I also have gotten the privilege to show in the Non- Stock classes, where I got the chance to compete against a whole variety of different breeds. I have always been open to trying new things with whatever horse I may be on.
Over my many years showing here, I have learned so much about the proper preparation and work to get ready for horse shows, especially bigger ones. Specifically for this show, my teammates from my barn and I set goals for ourselves months in advance. Nothing is more rewarding than watching your friends’ classes, and seeing them perfectly hit every mark they had been working on. To me, all these years, this show has been about my team supporting each other and pushing each other to accomplish more than what we could’ve ever imagined. When I’m in my classes, nothing means more to me than looking into the stands and seeing all my friends cheering for me. This show has brought me closer to not only my team, but the people outside of it that have always been so supportive.
In the fall of 2024, I am going to West Virginia University, where I will be studying Agricultural Business Management. This major will take me in the perfect direction of where I want to guide my future, even though I couldn’t say what exactly it is that I want my career to be yet. I am also still debating on minoring in Equine Science, where I can specialize in horses specifically within the agriculture field. I plan on joining the Western IHSA team, where I can continue to excel in my passion for riding horses. I am super excited to move up in the world and can’t wait to see where this scholarship can take me.