Congratulations to this year's Zone 5 Horsemanship Award winners!
Patty Stovel is this year's Contemporary Award recipient.
"I feel very honored and very surprised to receive it," Stovel said. "I was very surprised to say the least."
Stovel has been involved in the sport since she was young, with parents who helped fuel her passion for the sport.
"They were supportive of me the whole way in every way possible. I got my love for doing the sport through them. That’s what my mom did. She loves teaching the young ones. That’s where I think I got the love of the horse itself which is what this is all about."
Stovel worked with some of the sport's top equestrians and became a trainer herself. Her philosophy is based on horsemanship and being effective rather than just having a certain look. Her biggest passion, she said, is training young horses.
"We try to bring them along so that when they get sold they go to a home that suits them well and people enjoy them," she said.
Stovel hopes to continue her work with young horses and continue to inspire other riders, including her family, to find the joy she has found in horses.
"It’s like when my daughter was growing up I said I just want her to enjoy the horses," Stovel said. "She mostly just likes the horses. She has fun, and that to me was my main goal for her."
