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| | | Welcome to the Mounted Patrol Foundation quarterly newsletter
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| We hope this Newsletter finds you and your family healthy and safe from the Corona Virus. These have been trying times but with everyone’s cooperation and willingness to follow the CDC guidelines, we will survive and hopefully thrive in the post Covid world. Stay strong and remember we are all in this together.
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 Homestead High School senior
Rebecca Refaee
on being awarded this new scholarship.
Rebecca, a Los Altos resident, is currently a novice rider for Stanford Red Barn’s Interscholastic Equestrian Team, has lettered in the United States Equestrian Federation’s High School Equestrian Athlete Program, and has been a counselor at Camp Cardinal, Stanford University’s youth horse riding camp, and a volunteer at Stanford horse shows and team tryouts.
A straight-A student, including advanced placement as well as college courses, Rebecca’s academic involvement includes serving her high school as Vice President of the Animal Welfare Club and President of the Spanish Club, and achieving her black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Rebecca’s community service experience includes serving as Assistant Animal Socializer and Youth Volunteer at Jasper Ridge Farm, and volunteering at Sunday Friends, where she helped low-income families learn English. In addition, she created Anatomy Whiz, an Apple app that teaches girls about science.
Her awards include being named a National Merit Scholar and AP Scholar with Honor, and she has been inducted into the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, which published her research paper. She also received the Youth Mentorship Award at Jasper Ridge Farm.
Rebecca will attend Stanford University in the fall, where she plans to join both the dressage and hunt seat teams with the goal of competing all four years. She will study physics at Stanford, and conduct research, to prepare for a physics PhD program and ultimately, her dream career: scientific researcher.
Outstanding Applicant Pool
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.
Center Trail Bridge Project Breaks Ground
We are pleased to report construction of the Center Trail Bridge began in earnest on June 15. After the biologists confirmed there were no nesting birds or wildlife that could be disturbed, the clearing and preparation began. Currently, the footings are being installed and the bridge itself is being fabricated off site. We anticipate it will be delivered in early July and with any luck, the project could be finished by the end of July or early August.
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Because this is a public works project, the Town Engineer has been intimately involved with bidding, and project management. As we reported last month, the lowest bid was $236,850, which was above the original estimate. Fortunately the Woodside Trails Club was able to fund the excess, and the Town approved the project for construction. We want to once again give thanks to the Town Council that has voted 7-0 over the last four meetings to support this project, to the Town Engineer and staff that have worked so hard on the permits, bids and documentation, and most of all, to all the generous donors that made this possible:
Woodside Trails Club $85,850
Woodside Trails Committee Donation Fund $50,000
Woodside Town Capital Investment Program $35,000
WHOA = Woodside-area Horse Owners Association $25,000
MP Foundation $15,000
Woodside Community Fund $10,000
CHAPS - Community Horse Advocacy Program for San Mateo County $ 5,000
Anne VanCamp $ 5,000
Tom Shanahon $5,000
Don Pugh $1,000
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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.
P.S. Please feel free to visit our website |
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