Theme: Fueled by Passion
Lauren is the President of Jack C. Hays High School FFA and was Vice-President in 2004-2005. She is also in her second term as National President of AMHyA (American Miniature Horse Youth Association). After attending the FFA convention in Lubbock in 2005, she came home very excited about the experience and said that we needed to have a booth at the next convention, which was to be in Ft. Worth close to the AMHA National Headquarters. Lauren and several friends have promoted using miniatures in the FFA program and show in the county youth show against the “big” horses, and hold their own very well.
We presented the idea to the Youth Committee at AMHA, but they felt that it would be “unfair” of them to sponsor a booth at one state convention and not all of them, which they couldn’t afford. Because Lauren was so convinced that it was an excellent opportunity that could not be missed, we decided to go ahead and do it ourselves, utilizing the booth display that AMHA had offered. It was a wonderful experience and we gave information to thousands of people who took thousands of pictures! There will be a poster of miniature horses in many classrooms this year when they study equine science and hopefully many FFA Horse Judging teams will attend the free judging contest at our World Show in Ft. Worth, September 29, 2006.
I think that most of the people with cell phone cameras took pictures of our 25 1/2″ mare, Little America’s It’s Mardi Gras, and her two-month-old colt, Little America’s Sterling Fantastic II. When Sterling got too tired of the crowds and the tiny stall, I took him for a walk to work out some of his excess energy and drew a crowd every time.
All set up, waiting for doors to open.
A few minutes later the fun began!
The people involved with FFA are outstanding and the service that they do for our youth is second to none. I encourage everyone to get involved in any way that you can to support your local FFA chapter.
Lauren attended the General Sessions and learned and was inspired by many excellent speakers, including Governor Rick Perry. We both attended the evening sessions when the Exhibit Hall was closed. Lauren was excited to find another friend who had shown miniatures with her was in the Talent Show on Thursday night. Below are pictures of Jeff Jenkins performing his version of “Elvis”. The theme of the Fun Night was Nerd Out 2006 and all had a great time.
For more information about the opportunities in FFA, go to Texas FFA Association.