Recently, Agriculture teacher Tessa Gamble and the BHS Horse Judging team, composed of Class of 2010 graduates Morgan Fulenwider, Nikki Luft, Rhiannon Lewis and sophomore Cheyenne Van Vleet returned from the National competition with an 11^th place trophy.  

“The national qualifying  (team) was so successful because of their hard work and determination. The four girls worked hard and as a coach I could not ask for a better group,” Gamble said. “They studied hard, practiced constantly, and poured their heart into this contest; they did it for the satisfaction of doing the best that they could”

Lewis and Luft have gone on to compete at the college level with Lewis at Texas A&M and Luft at West Texas A&M.  Similarly, Fulenwider earned a rodeo scholarship to Uvalde Junior College as a result of her 4-H and FFA activities throughout high school.

Gamble is in her third year at BHS, but her sixth year teaching and brings a wealth of knowledge about horses to her position. “I taught agriculture in Colorado for three years where I also coached horse judging,” she said. “I teach an Equine Science Class that is all about horses and those students are my potential horse judgers.”

The team also works closely with the 4-H horse project and the project’s judging coach Dina Buttner. “We practice every other Thursday from 6:15 until 8:00 pm,” Gamble said. “This (cooperation) has allowed me to absorb the younger students with prior knowledge into my program to make it stronger.”

Right now, Gamble has only one returning member (Van Vleet), but said that the following current members are coming to practice and looking to repeat the National Team’s success: Sarah Butler Cheyanne Jenkins, Grace Cleaver, Alix Hay, Jessica Stubling, and Kassi Pavelka.

            “I know that these girls will keep working as hard as they can,” Gamble said.  The team’s regional and state qualifying meets will come up in the spring of 2012.