2016 Sam Thompson Memorial Foundation Scholarship recipients.

DALLAS, TEXAS-OCTOBER 21, 2016—The first-ever recipients of the Sam Thompson Memorial Foundation Scholarship has been announced.

After a successful fundraising event at the 2016 Ruidoso Select Yearling sale in September, as well as the auctioning off the first-ever donated Jess Good Candy breeding at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale in Oklahoma City, the foundation was able to award scholarships that totaled $33,000 for the 2016 inaugural class.

Scholarship Recipients

Blayke Haggard - Pevehouse Scholarship Winner is attending Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma for his BA in Optometry. According to Haggard, this scholarship will help reduce the financial burden of college, and allow him to focus more on his studies and accomplishments as a student. Haggard’s mother is a member of the OQHRA, and his family is involved in racing quarter horses.

Skyler Teal Danley Burks - Roy Brooks Scholarship Winner is attending New Mexico Sate University to attain a BA in Athletic Training. According to Burks, being awarded a Sam Thompson scholarship will be very beneficial to her education, and will allow her to continue on with her master's degree studies. Burk’s grandfather is a quarter horse and thoroughbred trainer in New Mexico.

Braiden Burks - Roy Brooks Scholarship Winner attends New Mexico State University pursuing a degree in Kinesiology, and will pursue his doctorate in Physical Therapy. According to Burks, this scholarship will mean that the path to his future career would be that much smoother by allowing him to focus more on his academics. Burk's grandfather is a New Mexico based horse trainer of both quarter horses and thoroughbreds.

Makenzie Atkinson - Gilbert Ortiz Scholarship Winner will attend the University of Southern California in January 2017 with a major in Political Science with future plans to become a lawyer. According to Atkinson, receiving this scholarship will mean the world to her, as it will be not only validation of all of her hard work, but it also means that others see enough potential in her to invest in her future. Atkinson was born into a horse racing family, and her first job was as a marketing aide at Santa Anita Racetrack.

Courtney Conklin - Gilbert Ortiz Scholarship Winner attends school in her hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho at the College of Southern Idaho with studies in Nursing. According to Conklin, being awarded this scholarship is such an honor, and to know that her beloved horse racing family contributed to something as valuable as her education makes her very grateful. Conklin’s father was a very prominent quarter horse jockey for many years, and is now the racing secretary for Los Alamitos.

Shianne Andrew - G.R. Carter, Jr. Scholarship Winner is a freshman Psychology major at The University of Tulsa. Andrew is extremely grateful for this assistance in furthering her education, and achieving her goals from a community she holds very dear to her heart. Andrew grew up on the backside of Prairie Meadows Racetrack until her family moved to Purcell, Oklahoma. Her father is a racetrack farrier with centralized business in the Remington Park area.

Sarah George - G.R. Carter, Jr. Scholarship Winner is a third year veterinary student at Oklahoma State University. George has dedicated much of her adult life to horses, and the racing industry. According to George, she holds the memory of Sam Thompson very close to her heart, and is honored to receive the first scholarship from the Sam Thompson Memorial Foundation.

Hailey Stenslie - Cody Jensen Scholarship Winner attends Green River Community College with studies in science and engineering. According to Stenslie, receiving the Sam Thompson Memorial Scholarship will take a significant weight off of her shoulders pertaining to school expenses. Stenslie’s family is heavily involved in the horse racing community in the state of Washington where they have started Sports Horse Medicine. She currently works at Lazy K Tack on the backside of Emerald Downs.

Yancye Guymon - Cody Jensen Scholarship Winner is currently enrolled at Utah State University, San Juan campus. According to Guymon, is an amazing honor to be awarded the Sam Thompson scholarship, and be representing someone who is so respected in the sport of horse racing. Guymon’s father is a successful quarter horse jockey who rides mainly at Los Alamitos. Guymon plans on studying medicine and physical therapy with hopes of developing a treatment program for jockeys modeled after the PBR, and NFR’s on-site sports medicine specialists.

Lana Grubb - Eddie Garcia Scholarship Winner is currently a nursing student at Texas Tech University Health Science Center of El Paso. She is a lifelong member of the horse racing industry. According to Grubb, this scholarship will be of tremendous help financially, while allowing the continuance of professional and educational endeavors within the healthcare field.

Jacob A. Kester - Eddie Garcia Scholarship Winner is a freshman at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington with studies in Political Science. According to Kester, being awarded a scholarship from the Sam Thompson Memorial Foundation is a great honor. The scholarship will remind him of where his roots come from, of dedicated, hard-working individuals who put their lives on the line every day for the racehorse industry. Kester’s mother and grandmother trained quarter horses, and his grandfather was a jockey.