July 5, 2005,
Amarillo, Texas – Joe Pluhar, 18, of Canyon, Texas, has big aspirations. Pluhar, the 2005 winner of the Wrangler ASPIRE Award, aspires to be his best with his dedication to the American Quarter Horse Youth Association, 4-H and service projects within his community.
The Wrangler ASPIRE Award was presented to Pluhar June 18 during the 2005 Youth Excellence Seminar (Y.E.S.) and AQHYA Convention in Amarillo, Texas. Pluhar received a $1,000 scholarship and a $500 gift certificate from Wrangler. The ASPIRE Award is presented each year to an AQHYA member who excels in leadership and service areas. The award was created to assist in developing and improving scholarship, leadership, and community interest and participation among young horsemen.
Pluhar has exemplified these qualities with his ambitious involvement in AQHA, AQHYA, the Texas Quarter Horse Association, 4-H and school. He was the Texas Quarter Horse Youth Association president for two years, was an AQHYA Region 8 director and has won at the national level in horse judging and public speaking contests.
Pluhar has been involved in service projects ranging from selling root-beer floats out of the back of a pickup truck to hosting 325 competitors, coaches and clinicians at his home during the 2002 AQHYA Youth World Cup in Amarillo. He’s even donated his time, and horses, to collegiate riding teams in Texas.
Not only does Pluhar excel in serving the horse industry and the community, but Pluhar also excels on horseback. He has qualified for the AQHYA World Championship Show six years with four different horses in five events. Pluhar was a member of the AQHYA Wrangler All Star Team and has earned superiors in western horsemanship, western riding, trail and reining. He was also a member of Team USA for the 2002 and 2004 AQHYA Youth World Cups.
A goal seeker on and off horses, Pluhar was ranked second in his senior class of 323 students while taking Advanced Placement and Dual Credit classes. He will be a freshman biomedical sciences major at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, this fall. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Pluhar hopes to go to veterinary school to become an equine lameness specialist.
This young, exceptional individual has more than met the requirements of anything he has aspired to, including the Wrangler ASPIRE Award.
“He knows how to set goals, inspire his fellow peers and see tasks through to fruition,” said Nancy Cahill, 1996 AQHA Professional Horseman.
Wrangler, an AQHA Corporate Partner, supports programs like the youth seminar and convention, is the title sponsor of the Wrangler All Star Team, title sponsor of Team Wrangler, sponsor of the Wrangler Leading Jockey Award at the MBNA America Racing Challenge Championships, co-sponsor of the AQHA and AQHYA World Championship Shows and contributor to the American Quarter Horse Foundation Scholarship Program.
Great Corporate Partners like Wrangler and passionate AQHYA members like Pluhar ensure a strong future for AQHA.
For more information on the Wrangler ASPIRE Award, visit
www.aqhya.com <http://www.aqhya.com> or call (806) 376-4811.
