WHOA! - Woodside-area Horse Owners Association

and the Mounted Patrol Foundation

Announce the Fifth Equestrian Merit Scholarship - 2024

 

The Mounted Patrol Foundation (MPF) and the Woodside-area Horse Owners Association (WHOA!) are accepting applications for the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award. For the fifth year, this scholarship is jointly sponsored by the two organizations for the continuing education of a high school senior with a demonstrated involvement in, and future dedication to, equine-related activities. Community involvement and academic achievement will be considered with a strong emphasis placed on financial need.

Application deadline is May 10, 2024, at 3:00 pm. Applications must be completed by this deadline. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Eligible applicants are high school seniors involved in equine-related activities in the San Francisco Bay Area who have been accepted to a continuing education program this fall. Such programs may include: college, university, trade school, or other educational programs.

Applicants will need to provide at least one reference letter from their teacher, instructor, counselor, or individual who can attest to their equine involvement. Up to three reference letters will be accepted.

Applicants will be required to show financial need by submitting a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or equivalent documentation.

Applicants will provide transcripts showing their GPA.

The $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award will be paid directly to the recipient's continuing education program in support of the recipient's tuition, fees, expenses, room, and/or board.

The scholarship will be awarded June 10, 2024.

Applications will be available March 15, 2024 and important submission information is available online at

https://whoa94062.org/merit-scholarship/

 

For questions or information, email:

scholarship@MountedPatrolFoundation.org

 

Both MPF and WHOA! share a deep interest in the next generation of equine-motivated individuals. The two organizations are committed to helping people further the interests of the equine community in their career, avocation or equine-related goals.
 

===== Historical Information 2023  Scholarship Winner Announced  =====

The Fourth $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship

Awarded to Sofia Seto


(Woodside, CA) June 13, 2023  The Mounted Patrol Foundation (MPF) and the Woodside-area Horse Owners Association (WHOA!), joint sponsors of the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award, congratulate Sofia Seto, recent graduate of Woodside High School, on being awarded this significant scholarship.


Community Commitment to the Future

 

This is the fourth year of commitment shared by WHOA! and MPF to help the next
generation of equestrians. The $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award assists a deserving local high school senior who has demonstrated involvement in equestrian activities as well as academic achievement, community service, and financial need.

 

Anne Van Camp, Chair of the WHOA! Steering Committee, explained, "The scholarship committee focused on evaluating equestrian involvement and academic achievement and was impressed with the candidates' statements. Also important were the applicants' essays and their justification and illustration of financial need for their continued education. Ms. Seto excelled in every category."

Sofia, who plans to major in biology at Tufts University this fall, put this into practical perspective. "I am so, so grateful to receive this scholarship award. The $10,000 award is equivalent to 500 hours of work, or 500 hours that I can focus on learning and achieving my goal of becoming a veterinarian to help animals and their people."

Phillip Whalen, Mounted Patrol Foundation, added, "The young equestrians who applied for the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award guarantee a bright future for the equestrian community. Each and every one of these students demonstrated strong commitment to their continued involvement in the horse world, and focus on their higher education. The applicants were all wonderful, well qualified candidates, and Ms. Seto especially stood out in all respects."

 

Introducing Sofia Seto


"Exceptional and motivated," is how Sofia is described by the manager of the riding lesson program where Sofia began as a volunteer and later worked as the lesson office manager and a riding and horsemanship instructor.

"She can take lessons she learned from her horseback riding and apply them to learning difficult concepts in biology," remarked her biology instructor.

"Sofia takes initiative and makes time management look effortless when balancing her rigorous coursework, school life and horseback riding," said her school counselor.

Sofia describes herself as a "summer camp kid" who graduated to half-leasing, then full-leasing a horse. With sheer determination and hard work, and without owning a horse of her own, Sofia gained expertise and experience in eventing competition, eventually earning the US Eventing Association Novice Gold Medal.

Excelling scholastically, with a 4.312 weighted GPA, Sofia earned awards as a National Merit Commended Scholar, an AP Scholar with Honor, and achieved the World Language Award for Latin. She is a reader, musician, artist, and volunteer in addition to a dedicated equestrian, and credits her parents for being supportive of her goals and dreams.

 

Looking Ahead

Sofia describes a clear parallel between her developing confidence in eventing competitions and how she works to achieve goals in all aspects of life.

"Though I occasionally pull rails down in my stadium rounds, I always approach the course with a clear plan, keeping any panicked thoughts at bay. Rather than becoming paralyzed by fear in the show ring, I react quickly to any issue that needs to be remedied. And I eagerly await the intoxicating thrill of cross-country, bursting with newfound courage and confidence in my ability".

"I readily apply this confidence in every aspect of my life. Through arguing my point in Socratic seminars in English class, projecting my voice while teaching young equestrians, and even asking employees questions while shopping, I prove to myself, again and again, that nothing is stopping me from doing what I want to do".

"Whenever I feel unqualified, embarrassed, or discouraged, I emulate the eventing version of myself; the self-assured, composed, unflappable athlete that stands calmly in the cross-country start box.

"The strengths I gained from my career as an eventer allow me to take risks and react to any hindrance without freezing. With this approach, I will propel myself toward my dream of becoming a scientific researcher, with a specific focus on horses and equine disease, to give back to the animals that revealed my courage".

"Beyond that, I dream of taking opportunities to grow without wondering if my qualifications are enough. My success in eventing has proven to me that my skill can surprise me and that achieving my goals is worth the risk."
 

====== Historical Information 2022  Scholarship Winner Announced  ======

The Third $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship

Awarded to Iliana Close


(Woodside, CA) July 25, 2022 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, congratulate Iliana Close, recent graduate of Carlmont High School, on being awarded this significant scholarship.

Reflecting a third year of commitment shared by WHOA! and MPF to help the next generation of equestrians, the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award assists a deserving local high school senior who has demonstrated involvement in equestrian activities as well as academic achievement, community service, and financial need.

"In this 2022 version of the scholarship, we saw more applicants than ever," commented Anne Van Camp, member of the WHOA! Steering Committee and Chair of the Scholarship Committee. "This impressive group of applicants were deeply involved in the equestrian community, as well as in their academic commitments and community service activities. They made it more challenging than ever to select this year's recipient."

All applicants were seniors attending high school in San Mateo, Santa Clara, or San Francisco County, and who had been accepted to, and plan to attend, a college, university, or other continuing education program this fall.

Don Pugh, Mounted Patrol Foundation, remarked, "The achievements and dedication of the students who applied for the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award assure a bright future for both the equestrian community and every one of these students. They are outstanding future leaders."

Introducing Iliana Close

"It is an incredible honor to receive this scholarship," Iliana told members of the WHOA! Steering Committee and the Mounted Patrol Foundation when they met for the scholarship presentation.

"A college education is a high-cost endeavor, and my earlier cancer diagnosis and treatment complicated my family’s financial planning for college expenses. This scholarship will assist me not only by helping me pursue my education at Stanford University, it will allow me to continue volunteering at the Stanford Red Barn and the animal fostering charity close to my heart, Rescue the Underdog."

Iliana applied to Stanford University because she wants to pursue a rigorous academic plan that allows her to collaborate with and learn from professors as well as fellow students. She says, "At Stanford, I will have access to world-class resources, enabling me to continue my research into inflammatory and rare diseases. Partnering with Stanford's diverse, entrepreneurial student body will allow me to broaden the scope of my non-profit charity, EcoLogic Health, and further develop its outreach methods. After completing my undergraduate degree in Human Biology, I hope to pursue the co-terminal master's program at Stanford in Community Health and Prevention Research."

Looking ahead, she remarks, "My hope for the future is to use my education to give back to the community through research, education, and outreach. I know that my academic success, my actions, and my contributions to the community will all reflect upon WHOA! and the Mounted Patrol Foundation, and I will work to make a positive impact on both the equestrian community and society as a whole."

Interests and Achievements

Infatuated with horses from her early childhood in New Mexico, Iliana has been training and competing as a member of the Stanford Red Barn/Woodside Interscholastic Equestrian Association team for the past 4 years. "I qualified for IEA National Finals in 2021 and 2022, but prior to 2020, I was not competing due to late effects from cancer and coinciding treatment, but I continued to participate in team training." Now her equestrian activities include four days a week of training in addition to her IEA lesson, and competing in five to six shows per year.

Academic achievements for this recent graduate of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, includes serving as president and founder of the STEM club, membership in Climate Change club, and participation in the UC Berkeley BioEHS competition, where her team researched sustainable water production.

Community service takes Iliana from the Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California, where she manages social media accounts and organizes campaigns and events, to sustainable volunteer efforts such as eco-friendly food drives, local beach cleanups, social media campaigns to develop sustainable solutions for environmental protection, foster care for unwanted dogs, and online research in environmental conservation.

Work experience includes founding and serving as CEO of EcoLogic Health (www.ecologichealth.org ), a non-profit organization working toward sustainable solutions for health, humanity, and ecology. Also populating her C.V. are prestigious internships, including with Dr. Edwards (JHU) and Prof. Henter (Karolinska Institute) which discovered new environmental risk factors for inflammatory cancers, the Stanford Clinical Internship Program in 2021, researching pulmonary embolisms, and the Stanford Neuroscience Program in 2021, focused on AI and neuroimaging-based detection for COVID-19 and Alzheimer's disease.
 

====== Historical information - 2021  Scholarship ======

The second $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship

Awarded to Olivia Bodner

(Woodside, CA) August 1, 2021 - 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, congratulate Olivia Bodner, recent graduate of Carlmont High School and student at Canada Middle College, on being awarded this scholarship.

Now in its second year of assisting a deserving local high school senior, the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award supports students with a demonstrated involvement in equestrian activities as well as academic achievement, community service, and financial need. It reflects a continuing commitment shared by WHOA! and MPF, of helping the next generation of equestrians.

 

"All of this year's applicants impressed the selection committee with the depth of their involvement in the equestrian community, as well as the quality of their academic achievement and range of community service activities," remarked Anne Van Camp, Chair of the WHOA! Steering Committee. "The economic difficulties that are challenging many families during the pandemic made awarding this scholarship especially meaningful."

 

All applicants were seniors who attended high schools in San Mateo, Santa Clara, or San Francisco Counties, and who had been accepted to and plan to attend a college, university, or other continuing education program this fall.

 

"The academic, community, and equestrian achievements of the students who applied for the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award clearly show that the future is bright, both for these students and for the equestrian community," stated Kip Witter, Mounted Patrol Foundation.

 

Meet Olivia Bodner

 

"I am extremely appreciative," Olivia remarked after learning the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award would give her a boost into the years of higher education that await her. "It's exciting to be able to move forward with the help of this scholarship, and I am so grateful to Woodside-area Horse Owners Association and to the Mounted Patrol Foundation! I appreciate what these organizations are doing in the community, not only with this scholarship, but with all their activities."

 

Equestrian Activities

 

Olivia began working at a local horse camp at the age of 11, progressing through increasingly responsible roles as she gained age and experience, culminating in her responsibilities as head instructor.

 

Eventually, Olivia became a working student at another barn where she is currently responsible for the feeding, care, and management of 15-20+ horses, tacking and untacking horses in training, preparing and packing for shows, holding horses for veterinarians, and more.

 

"This has been a learning experience in the best possible way, allowing me to learn hands-on from trainers as well as veterinarians," Olivia explained.

 

Olivia's own horses have been inspiration for her life goals. The early retirement of her 13-year-old Thoroughbred was a crash course in the science and the expense of his diagnosis and ultimately his retirement lifestyle. That inspired her to pursue a veterinary medicine education, with the goal of pursuing research to develop new approaches in equine orthopedic surgery. Currently, her other horse, a five-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred in its first year of non-track training, provides continuing motivation for Olivia to pursue her goals.

 

Academic Achievement

 

Olivia recently graduated Carlmont High School and the Canada Middle College program, in which she spent her junior and senior high school years at Canada Middle College in a program that allows students to finish their high school graduation requirements, along with college courses, as dual enrollment students.

 

Olivia's academic studies included every AP or honors course available to her, which increased the level of rigor and accelerated the course pace. Her academic awards include a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Achievement (Precalculus Honors), and she was named a National Merit Commended Scholar.

 

Music has provided Olivia with another avenue of study. She has played the tenor sax since 4th grade, participating in audition-level band classes through middle and high school, and the College of San Mateo Concert Band until the pandemic halted their performances.

 

Olivia will be attending the University of California, Davis, this fall as an animal science major, with the long-term goal of becoming an equine veterinarian. An audition for the band at UC Davis is also in her plans.

 

Community Service

 

Through her high school's music mentor program, Olivia has tutored music students in local elementary schools. This voluntary mentoring program provides students the opportunity to receive small group and individual tutoring that they would not otherwise get in their large group band classes. For Olivia, it provided a way to help foster her love of music with others.

 

Not surprisingly, Olivia has been deeply involved in animal rescue and care. She participated in a two-week animal rescue project in Costa Rica, working in low-income area spay/neuter clinics and at an animal shelter. At the clinic, Olivia provided hands-on help where it was most needed, from handling intake and prepping animals for surgery, to monitoring vital signs through surgery and into recovery. At the shelter, she helped care for the dogs and provided them with daily exercise.

 

Before Covid closed it down, Olivia began training to work in the SPCA kitten nursery at her local shelter, and also assisted with rehoming kittens that were surrendered while she worked at a large pet food store.

 

Financial Need

 

With escalating costs of higher education routinely in the news, its no surprise that the costs of a college education are on the minds of most students and their families. Olivia's three-part plan included the tuition and living expenses component shared by most students, as well as one unique to equestrians: how to afford her horses, as well.

 

Recognizing the challenges of affording her horses during her college years, Olivia knows she needs to balance her studies, potential internships, working, and riding. She plans to continue working part-time, as she has through high school, envisioning a transfer to the Davis branch of the pet food store where she currently works. Although her family diligently saved for her education "from the day I was born" she says she feels a responsibility to thank them for all their support through the years by working as well.

 

"This scholarship will make a significant difference in my ability to continue working, learning, studying, and riding whilst studying Animal Sciences on the pre-vet track at my top choice university," Olivia states. "It inspires and allows me to pursue the best learning opportunities possible in both my education and my riding."

 

====== Historical information 2020  Scholarship ======

The New $10,000 Scholarship for 2020 awarded to Rebecca Refaee

PRESS RELEASE (Woodside, CA) June 12, 2020 - Woodside, CA)

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, congratulate Homestead High School senior Rebecca Refaee on being awarded this new scholarship.

Both the Mounted Patrol Foundation and WHOA! share a deep interest in the next generation of equestrians, as well as a commitment to helping them achieve worthwhile goals, through each organizations" ongoing activities and through their joint sponsorship of this scholarship.

This scholarship award is especially relevant at a time when financial assistance with education expenses is even more important to the next generation of equestrians.

Meet Award Recipient Rebecca Refaee

Rebecca, a Los Altos resident, is currently a novice rider for Stanford Red Barn's Interscholastic Equestrian Team, a lettered United States Dressage Federation rider, 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 Science 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 Applicants

Eligible applicants included high school seniors who attended schools in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco Counties, and who had been accepted to and planned to attend a college, university or other continuing education program this fall.

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, 4H, 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: Kelley Hill, Isabella Gaddini, Rebecca Refaee, Clara Oberg, Rebecca Rodriguez-Soto, and Antonin Cornillon. 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, Rebecca Refaee and Antonin Cornillon, both presented outstanding applications and wrote compelling and persuasive essays, and ultimately Rebecca Refaee was selected as the recipient.

CONGRATULATIONS REBECCA

December 2019 - The Mounted Patrol Foundation and the Woodside-area Horse Owners Association (WHOA!) are pleased to announce a new scholarship, the $10,000 Woodside-area Equestrian Merit Scholarship Award, jointly sponsored by the two organizations for a deserving local high school senior with a demonstrated involvement in equestrian activities as well as academic achievement and community service..

 

Both the Mounted Patrol Foundation and WHOA! share a deep interest in the next generation of equestrians, as well as a commitment to helping them achieve worthwhile goals, through each organizations ongoing activities and now through their joint sponsorship of the this scholarship award.

Recipient must meet the following criteria:

 

The application link is below.  Please complete all sections of the application by typing in the form fields. Once complete, print and sign, then scan and submit by email to scholarship@MountedPatrolFoundation.org.   Incomplete applications will not be considered.

 

The $10,000 scholarship will be paid directly to the recipient's college or university in support of the recipient's tuition, fees, room and/or board.

 

 

 

 

 

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