On Friday, we took Jayden to the beginning of her fun filled weekend at the Prairie Meadows Youth Days. In the spring she filled out a detailed application and had to write a 500 word essay. 6 people in the state of Iowa were selected to participate based on accomplishments and academics. It was an honor and privilege for her to be chosen. She arrived at the hotel she would be staying in at noon on Friday. Her weekend consisted of all the behind the scenes that goes on at the Prairie Meadows race tracks. She met and followed trainers and spent hours with them daily. She met the vet, farrier, jockeys, telecast crew and got to know the horses. They ate at buffets each day and had time to swim in the pool at night. It was an amazing opportunity, one I know Jayden will never forget and she took it all in and fell in love. She learned so much and enjoyed every aspect. Even though the trainers live the life of a gypsy, she still thinks it would be the life. She told us all about every aspect of her weekend. She got to see a race that was so close it looked like a nose hair won it. They got to see the telecast area and how they replay the runs. There are a lot of rules and regulations and on the morning of the race, Jayden's trainers had to run and buy a metal grinder to grind down the shoes of 9 horses to the proper thickness. They did this while the shoes were on the horse. Mark and I got to join her on Sunday for a luncheon and awards presentation. Each of the girls had an interview on Saturday with a few judges. Today they had to stand up and introduce themselves and tell about the weekend. Each of the girls got a scholarship for $500, one got a $1500 and one got a $2000. We didnt know if Jayden would receive a scholarship because she is only a junior. She got a $500 scholarship. what a neat program and how excited and proud we are of Jayden.
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