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Woodside Area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Winner Announced
The Woodside-area Horse Owners Association (WHOA!) and the Mounted Patrol Foundation (MPF), joint sponsors of the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award, would like to congratulate Carlmont High School Senior
Iliana Close
on being awarded this annual scholarship.
Iliana is a San Carlos resident who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement while being actively involved in equestrian activities and community service.
She is attending Stanford University this fall, and said going to college is a high-cost endeavor for her since her prior cancer diagnosis and treatment complicated her family’s financial planning for college.
Ms. Close volunteers at the Stanford Red Barn and the animal fostering charity, Rescue the Underdog. She also runs a sustainability nonprofit, EcoLogic Health. She trains and competes as a member of the Stanford Red Barn/Woodside Interscholastic Equestrian team. At Stanford, she plans to major in human biology and continue her research into inflammatory and rare diseases.
Outstanding Applicant Pool “In this 2022 version of the scholarship, we saw more applicants than ever,” said scholarship committee chair Anne Van Camp in a statement. “These impressive applicants are deeply involved in the equestrian community, as well as with their academic commitments and community service activities. They made it more challenging than ever to select this year’s recipient.”
A number of high school seniors applied for the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award. The five-member selection committee, with two members representing each sponsoring organization and a committee chair representing both organizations, were captivated by each applicant’s strong commitment go equestrian involvement, academic excellence, and contribution to the community, as well as their impressive essays that displayed superb writing skills.
Applicants were involved with many local organizations: vaulting, dressage, and eventing clubs, Pony Club, Woodside Junior Riders, 4th of July Rodeo, 4-H, USEA, USEF, APHA, and Dream Power. Many of the applicants have or still are supporting CASA, Square Peg Foundation, Animal Assisted Happiness, local food banks, Abilities United, NCEFT, SPCA, Jasper Ridge Farm, and BOK.
From the stellar group of applicants, the selection committee selected six semi-finalists: Antonin Cornillon, Isabella Gaddini, Kelley Hill, Clara Oberg, Rebecca Refaee, and Rebecca Rodriguez-Soto. To address their need for financial aid, they were further asked to summarize how this scholarship could aid them in their future and assist with their education. From that group, two finalists, Antonin Cornillon and Rebecca Refaee, both presented outstanding applications and wrote compelling and persuasive essays. Ultimately, Rebecca Refaee was selected as the recipient.
Woodside Town Council - Trail Ride, Council meeting and Dinner Wunderlich Park August 23
Once again WHOA (Woodside Horse Owners Association), SMCHA (San Mateo County Horseman’s Association), the Town Trails Committee, the Town Livestock and Equestrian Heritage Committee, and the Mounted Patrol Foundation sponsored a trail ride and dinner for the Woodside Town Council. The Councilmembers enjoyed a one-hour trail ride in Wunderlich Park, followed by presentations from 27 different equestrian organizations. They were then treated to a delicious dinner provided by Firehouse Bistro. Everyone enjoyed getting together and learning more about the various activities of these diverse equestrian groups and how they can work together to enhance the equestrian experience.
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As a way to recognize and thank the 27 organizations that participated and supported the event, the Mounted Patrol Foundation donated a total of $5,400 to the UC Davis equine program to help support equine veterinarian students and equine research. That came to $200 for each group with the total donated on behalf of all the organizations. The participating equestrian organizations are as follows: Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks
San Mateo County Parks
Horse Park at Woodside
Chaparral Ranch
Sheriff's Activity League - Trail rides at Chaparral
San Mateo County Parks Foundation
Woodside Trails Committee
Woodside Livestock and Equestrian Heritage Committee
Mounted Patrol Foundation
San Mateo County Large Animal Evacuation Group
Woodside-area Horse Owners Association
Junior Riders
San Mateo County Horsemen's Association
Bay Area Barns and Trails
National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy
Equestrian Trail Riders Action Coalition
Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County
Los Viajeros
Horse Park Polo Club
Community Horse Advocacy Program for San Mateo County
San Mateo County Sheriff's Mounted Search and Rescue
Volunteer Horse Patrol
Woodside Community Fund
Woodside Trails Club
Jasper Ridge
BOK Ranch
Woodside Pony Club
Active Projects that currently need funding
Trail rides for Sheriff’s Activity League youths
To date we have had 26 happy youths who enjoyed two-hour equestrian sessions, including grooming, saddling, training and a trail ride. We would love to continue and expand this program this fall and next year but need your help to do it. Please consider donating below to this great program.
Many thanks to WHOA (Woodside-area Horse Owners Association), Bay Area Barns and Trails (BABT), and the San Mateo County Parks Foundation for their support.
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Western Heritage Scholarship The Mounted Patrol Foundation has, for the first time this year, established the Western Heritage Scholarship. It was created to provide financial help to high school students heading off for advanced education or training and who support Western heritage ideals, lifestyle and history.
The Scholarship will be awarded on a periodic basis when the selection committee identifies an outstanding candidate who meets the criteria below. Individuals can also nominate a student for this scholarship if they feel that he or she is a worthy candidate. Please note the goals and criteria for this award are different than those of the Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship. The ideal candidate for this scholarship will have: • Extensive employment or experience working in an equestrian related business (20%)
• Demonstrated financial need (40%)
• A commitment to an equestrian-related profession, such as trainer, competitor, farrier, vet, vet technician, barn manager, equine researcher, rancher etc. (20%)
• Above average academic performance (10%)
• Active community involvement (10%)
After careful review, the Mounted Patrol Foundation Committee has awarded its first Western Heritage Scholarship to
Michael Procopio-Santos.
He is attending California State University, Fresno, and studying Equine Science. Michael has been awarded a scholarship of $8,300 for his first semester’s tuition and board.
We would like to raise additional funds to provide assistance with the second semester.
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We are delighted to have the opportunity to reach out to our equestrian friends and look forward to communicating with you regularly regarding our efforts and other areas of interest to our community. We also invite you to provide feedback on issues we are not aware of where the Foundation and our supporters may be of assistance.
Thanks so much for joining us and happy trails.
Don Pugh Chair, Mounted Patrol Foundation don@mountedpatrolfoundation.org
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