By Intern Angelique Robinson



Horse Show/Benefit for Amber Tassel
Saturday, May 22 9am-4pm
Grandabon Farm
48 Cerro Alto Rd
Lamy, NM
670-8319

Seventeen-year-old Amber Tassel is not your average straight-A high school student horsing around with normal extracurriculars. She spends six days of her already packed high school week at a farm enduring intense physical labor, tending to multiple horses and the stalls that house them. Her mother is often by her side, and the two work laboriously for one reason: to fund young Tassel's horse-riding lessons and training. Vanessa Waltz, Tassel's trainer, explains to the Santa Fe Reporter that “Amber isn't just a talented rider, she's a hard worker.”

All of Tassel's hard work fortunately paid off when she was admitted to the 2010 Emerging Athletes Program (EAP) in Parker, Colo., an elite youth conference run by the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA). Tassel explains that “this program is to support riders that have the talent but not the financial means to back it.”

Tassel's work ethic will continue to thrive this Saturday 9am-4pm when she will be hosting, alongside Grandabon Farm, a horse show and auction to help finance her trip to the EAP. There is no admission fee, just many opportunities to donate and help send Tassel to the first hurdle of her horse-riding career. Take it straight from the horse's mouth, Tassel herself, “We definitely need help from this weekend,” and she'll work tirelessly to get that help. You go, cowgirl.