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Elgin 4-H'er puts talents, interests in the spotlight |
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By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition |
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October 10, 2002 -- It's no secret where Ashlee Copeland of Elgin received the genes that make her love horses. Her mom, Jena Diebel, was fourth in the nation and went to the World Show three times, on top of winning District, Regional and State awards in 4-H. Now, it's Ashlee's turn. They laugh that Ashlee was in her first horse show as a 2-year-old, still wearing a "pull-up" under her jeans! Now, at 13, Ashlee says her greatest love is horses, and although she makes straight "A's" at school, she said she daydreams about horses all of the time. Her thoughts of horses often end up on paper - she is a very good artist and can sketch a horse in a matter of minutes. All of her horse showing experiences have been positive, except for one. At the end of a competition, when she was 8-years-old, she was leading her horse out of the arena as the next contestant was coming into the arena. The other horse "spooked" and kicked Ashlee, leaving her unconscious and giving her mom quite a scare. Since Jena had experienced a bad accident on a horse as a child, she knew the importance of getting her daughter back in the saddle as soon as possible. Ashlee said she was "okay in the saddle," but a little hesitant on the ground around strange horses. When she was 5-years-old, Ashlee's horse tripped and she flew out of the saddle, during a show, but miraculously landed on her feet in front of the horse. The crowd quickly gave her a loud round of applause. Horses demand a lot of respect, like most animals, and, especially, a horse that is purchased for a child to learn to ride, according to Jena. "A horse is a horse. A person can get hurt on the gentlest, friendliest horse in the whole entire world," Jena explained about the respect a rider has to give its horse. "(But) why buy something that is green and make your odds go way up of getting your kid hurt?" Ashlee has been involved in 4-H for seven years, and has competed with horses and dogs over the years. For the past two years, she has competed with her horse, Rosie, and after moving from Bastrop County to Elgin, last year, she has been involved with the Elgin 4-H. "The first Quarter Horse show I went to, I competed in Western Pleasure, Showmanship, Horsemanship, Trail, Hunter Under Saddle and Hunt Seat Equitation," said Ashlee. She is as at home in an English saddle and attire, as well as the Western, but said she enjoys Western more. At the last District competitions, she competed against about 50 other 4-H'ers, from 12- to 18-years-old. "At the District 4-H Horse Show, I got fourth in Showmanship and fifth in Pleasure," she said. Although qualifying for State in Western Pleasure, Ashlee said she "made it back for the semi-finals and didn't make it for the finals." Since she was one of the youngest contestants, her mom assured her she had done very well, since at State there are usually around 200 in each class. Now, Ashlee is concentrating on earning "points" to accumulate for year-end awards and qualify for World competition, as well as the Champion of Champion Show. She said earning points is a slow process, according to the number of contestants, but that is her ultimate goal. "It's a lot of hard work, but I love the horses," added the young equestrian. Last year, she won first place in Bastrop County in 4-H Record Keeping and has gone to State four years showing her dogs. Although she plans a lifetime with horses in her future, she is realistic enough to realize that working with horses costs money. "Before, I wanted to be an architect, but the last few days of school, we've had career week, and there's the graphic designer and interior designer ... and I really love to draw," Ashlee said with a tone of excitement. Besides her enjoyment and skills as an artist, Ashlee is also an accomplished country-and-western singer. She has modeled and has performed at the Pecan Street Festival, on 6th Street and at Aqua Fest in Austin, and at the Riverwalk in San Antonio, among other places. Her mom has suggested that if she should hit it big with one good record, she could be set for life with her horses. Watch out, Dixie Chicks ... she loves your music! |
