2009 CHSA Scholarship Recipients

CHSA Awards Three Scholarships

By George Jensen

The Board of Directors of CHSA is pleased to announce the awarding of three scholarships in the amount of $1,500 each to Jenna Burns of Deep River, Jessica Gross of Ledyard and Christen Scarpa of Mystic.  This is the third time that Christen has received a CHSA scholarship.  Jenna and Jessica are both former recipients of the CHSA Good Sportsmanship Award. 

Each year, CHSA awards scholarships to those deserving members who wish to continue their education beyond the secondary level.  The scholarships are funded through member contributions and the proceeds from CHSA Finals and the auction and raffle at the Year End Banquet as well as contributions from the CHSA operating funds.  The amount and number of scholarships is directly dependent on the availability of funds from these sources.

 

Jenna Burns

Jenna is a graduate of Valley Regional High School.  She is attending the University of Connecticut, where she will study nursing, with the hope of eventually becoming a registered nurse. The importance of education to her has outlasted many different obstacles and difficulties in her life.  In the winter of her eighth grade she was diagnosed with leukemia.  While many patients must repeat a school year, she has maintained a 3.9 GPA in rigorous courses while at the same time battling leukemia.

Jenna has not had the typical high school experience. Her strength was tested early in her high school career and she often had to miss school during draining chemotherapy sessions in her sophomore year. She worked outside of school with tutors when her immune system was too weak for her to be in the halls during cold and flu season. Jenna had to sacrifice membership in clubs and sports during this time while her health, understandably, became the prime focus.

Jenna has put her treatments behind her and now has more time to focus ly on being a "typical" student. Only there is still nothing "typical" about Jenna. While still in high school she excelled academically, was involved with the school chorus, was a member of the Opera Club and SPEAK (Students Promoting Equality Activism and Knowledge). She also had more time to participate in her true passion, horseback riding.  Jenna has used her experience in horse competitions and riding by volunteering at a local organization, High Hopes, a place that helps children facing adversity in their lives to connect with the sport.

Jenna became hooked on showing horses when she was three and still "splitting" her lesson with her older sister.  She entered my first horse show at age 4 on her lesson horse "Lucky" and was ecstatic to win a beautiful pink ribbon. She really got addicted when she received her very own first horse, Illiad, for my tenth birthday. Illiad was a former Region 16 Arabian Western Pleasure Champion looking for a retirement home; he was a "Pro" in the show world and truly taught her how to ride.

They used to spend hours riding bareback in the pastures at her barn.  One day she showed her Mom how she and Illiad could jump bareback over the little stream that ran through the pasture.  The next thing she knew she had been signed up for jumping lessons! She and Illiad began attending schooling shows.  Even though she didn't know what she was doing, Illiad did. Consequently, they won some ribbons.

She and her mother began looking for a local organization that was competitive, yet friendly and safe, but fun; which is when they found CHSA!  She and Illiad had a great time showing that year.   However, after the season ended, Illiad had to be put down due to complications from Cushings. When the CHSA year-end standings came out, Jessica was surprised to learn that Illiad had earned a 5^t' place Honorable Mention in Arabian Western Pleasure. She attended her first CHSA Year End Award Banquet and proudly picked up Illiad's ribbon.

Her second horse, an energetic PMU rescue named Herbie, proved to be more of a challenge which made ribbons even more valuable.  When CHSA added special PMU classes to some of their shows, she rode in almost all of them.  She and Herbie were just starting to become a successful team when she was diagnosed with leukemia. It was impossible to keep up with the demands necessary to show. During treatment she still attended shows but only to help her sister compete. That year when she attended the CHSA Year End Awards ceremony, she was disappointed that she wouldn't be receiving any awards.  However, her family and friends surprised her by nominating her for the CHSA Good Sportsmanship Award which she was thrilled to receive!

Currently, she has a horse named Dodge who will be competing on the CHSA circuit as well as in Arabian Shows. Although her show "career" has progressed to bigger, overnight shows, she still loves local shows the best. She grew up with CHSA. While competing with CHSA, she has encountered setbacks, started over on new horses, conquered fears, handled defeat and experienced triumph.  She chose the University of Connecticut because it is close to home and allows her to continue riding and showing Dodge at the CHSA events.

The nurses that cared for Jenna during her treatment have, without doubt, affected her life forever.   She says she would like to pass on to someone else the same comfort and hope that they gave to her and her family.  She believes everyone has the chance to positively affect the life of another.  By becoming a nurse, she thinks she will be able to accomplish this goal over and over. 

 

Jessica Gross

All her life, college has been a goal that she has set for herself, not because her grandfather threatened to send her to military school if she didn't go (although that may have given her a little incentive), but because she wants to be able to gain as much knowledge as she could in an area that she loves.  Jessica graduated from Ledyard High School and entered Cazenovia (New York) College where she plans to major in Equine Business Management.   With this major she hopes to find the area in the equine world that interests her most, whether it is in nutrition, training, breeding, or whatever else might spark her interest.  Jessica also chose this major because, if for some unknown reason she decided that horses weren’t for her anymore, she would have the business management part of her major as a back up which she could use in the business world.

A highly motivated young woman, Jessica has proven her willingness to give of herself to others. She was actively involved with Student Congress where she was instrumental in planning spirit week, pep rallies, blood drives and turkey baskets.  Jessica's had a passion to be an effective and responsive member of this organization by seeking out a diverse array of students' thoughts, concerns and opinions and then communicating them to Student Congress.  Jessica has a polite and pleasant demeanor and she interacts well with both her peers and adults, character traits which should help her achieve great things in her life. She also was the student chairperson of the Ledyard High School Agricultural Science and Future Farmers of America Horse Show. 

 After about a year of riding, her trainer suggested that she join the barn at a horse show to see if competing was something in which she would be interested.  Following the show she talked to her mom. They decided that Jessica would ride in the next show, a Southern New England Horsemen's Association (SNEHA) show.  She would ride in the Hunt Seat Walk-Trot division. At this show, each division had an equitation, pleasure and trail class. For her first equitation class, she wanted to look her best:  polished boots, ironed jacket and shirt, clean helmet, heels down, looking up, shoulders back, sitting up nice and tall, correct diagonals, the whole nine yards.

 When the first class was over, the competitors lined up in the middle of the ring.  The ringmaster started calling the placings for the class, starting with sixth. Placing after placing were called; Jessica’s name and number were not called. Although she was  a little upset, she knew it was her first show and that she probably wasn't going to do so well. Then the ringmaster called first place – Jessica Gross!  She ended that day as Reserve Champion in her division.  That was it!  She told her mom that showing was what she wanted to do all summer.  And that's what she’s been doing for seven years.  Presently she shows hunters and dressage with CHSA affiliated shows.

 

 Christen Scarpa

Christen has entered her Junior year at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.  This past year was a very exciting one for her.  She worked very hard and earned a 3.4 GPA in the last semester.

Christen is making every effort to help pay for her education through scholarships and working. During the last school year she worked eight hours per week for the Director of Development & Alumni Affairs in the Quinnipiac University School of Law, through the Work Study program. She is planning to do this again this year. She worked two jobs this past summer, while balancing her riding and showing.

Christen’s involvement with horses and riding began when she was 13 years old and took her first riding lesson. This activity quickly became a passion which led to her owning and caring for her own horse.  Then she progressed to showing.  She believes that showing horses was a natural progression from taking riding lessons.  She knows that some people enjoy horses and riding, for the social nature of the activity.  But for Christen, it is more than just a social outlet.  Riding and showing continually compels her to work hard to better her riding and herself. The happiest time of year for her is when the summer show season is in full swing.

 Her first horse show experience was a schooling horse show at Mystic Valley Hunt Club, where she was taking lessons.  She rode an old barn school horse named Hershey.  She was excited when first dressing in a hunt coat.  She very nervous when she entered the ring. And, she remembers the feeling of total satisfaction, excitement and pride when Hershey and she earned a 6^th place ribbon that day.  She was on Cloud Nine and she was hooked.

 Showing horses has taught her the value of hard work, dedication and the successes that can be earned as a result.  She has also learned firsthand the sadness and frustration when things don't go as one wants them to, and empathy for others who experience the same problems. Through riding, she has grown as a person and in self-confidence and self-esteem. She feels fortunate to have been able to take part in this great sport. 

 All of this is very expensive.  When she was 14 years old, she began selling beaded eye glass chains to help with some of the expenses. While, initially, her entrepreneurial adventure (Goggle Grabbers) was out of necessity, she quickly learned how much she enjoyed the whole process of creating and marketing a product.  She said, “ I think that my college marketing major picked me!”

 Continuing education is essential for Christen to achieve her career objective of working in the marketing industry.  The rigorous program at the Quinnipiac University School of Business should certainly prepare her for a career in business.  With the skills she will acquire from her four years of education at Quinnipiac University, she will have laid the groundwork for a successful and enjoyable career in the business world in which she hopes to incorporate her equestrian passion.