Past & Current Recipients
Listed below are just a few examples of some of the young equestrians we've been able to support. With your donation, we can set new goals and add more names to this page!
Lacie Hurst
Lacie Hurst's trainer, Shelley Garrett, first applied in March 2023 for a grant that would allow Lacie to pursue qualifying for the Maryland Horse Show Association's Gittins Horsemanship Finals in Oct. 2023. Lacie was accepted as a recipient. Lacie and her horse, The One and Only Ivan, began their journey qualify, but in May 2023, her horse was diagnosed with leptospirosis, causing sudden blindness in his right eye, and affecting his left eye. This effectively ended his 2023 competition season, but luckily it did not end Lacie's. Rachel Kennedy of ESP Farm was generously able to offer Lacie another mount as a donation to the foundation. After lots of practice and determination, Lacie and her new mount qualified for the Gittings Finals in July 2023. With the continued support of the foundation and Kennedy, Lacie is spending this competition year continuing to show ahead of the October 2023 finals. Most recently, Lacie showed "Callahan," to the Older Children's Champion and Grand Children's Hunter Champion at the 2023 Maryland Horse & Pony Show.
Quote and photographs courtesy of Shelley Garrett and The Chronicle of the Horse. Click the button above to read the full article on Lacie Hurst.
"Lacie’s story has continued because of people who saw the fire in a rider who could go so very far if she had the financial means to do it. Lacie doesn’t have a family that could pay for a seasoned equitation horse when her horse went blind. She doesn’t board at a barn where someone else has one appropriate to be able to borrow. Her parents are at the barn every day with her working off her board. Her mother, Colleen, cleans stalls at the farm every day. Wayne, her father, spends his weekends trailering the horses to the shows, building jumps, fixing fences, whatever is needed. They make it work for Lacie.
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If it hadn’t been for the Rachel Kennedys, the Ashley Holsingers or the dozens of others that have come in to make this work, Lacie would just be another rider watching from the bleachers, wishing she could compete in these classes. On July 1, Lacie and Andy received their required first-place medal, officially qualifying them for Finals. Lacie can now say, “I got to try.”
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Without The Mayes Foundation grant, none of this would have happened. The next time you find yourself wondering where the barn rats have gone, think about donating to the foundation. If you do, you just might be able to see a few more of them be able to come out from behind the curtain our sport so often has. "