Six outstanding students, one of them a full-time groom until entering college last fall, have won HTA’s 2003 college scholarships. The winners, each of whom receives $7,500 toward their college expenses, are:

CHRISTINA ANONA DOMINGUEZ, 20, of Loomis, California, a freshman at Heald College in Roseville, CA, where she is studying for an associate in applied science degree in computer information technology. Ms. Dominquez worked as a groom in the Donald Valentine stable for two and one-half years, and is the first in her family to attend college. A fast learner, she says she "dreams large" and plans to own a harness race horse of her own. "Growing up in a poor family of six, there were a lot of things I didn’t get to do and have and a lot of things I wanted we couldn’t afford," she wrote. "My parents aren’t educated and have worked at several different odd jobs while I was growing up. After I graduate I plan to secure a career in the information technology field. I do not want to struggle from paycheck to paycheck or have to be dependent on anyone other than myself. I am going to be financially independent."

ANN MARISA KROKEN, 27, of Lisbon Falls, Maine, a graduate of Dartmouth College and presently in her final year in the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. A winner of an HTA scholarship last year as well as this, Ms. Kroken’s late father, Bill Whitcher, bred cattle and harness horses and trained a small stable on his farm in Pownal, Maine. She says her father’s love for the sport was contagious and that after her first ride on a jog cart "I was hopelessly and irreversibly hooked, and my world changed." Ann has raced two horses in New England since her father’s death two years ago, and says she cannot imagine a future without racing. Following her graduation as a veterinarian next May, she plans on specializing in equine lameness.

AMANDA LEAH SHACKFORD, 20, of Madison, New Hampshire, a freshman at the University of Vermont studying pre-veterinary medicine. She got her first horse at 11 and "devoted my life to him," and says she "feels a special kinship with animals in which we share a mutual respect and understanding for each other." An avid horsewoman, she was inspired by a woman vet who attended her horse when it was injured, and she has interned at the Conway vet hospital in Conway, NH, and has been barn manager at Sunander Standardbred Breeding Farm in Eaton, NH, since she was 13. The daughter of a single parent, Paul Shackford, a construction worker, Ms. Shackford says she has watched her father "struggle for almost 20 years trying to raise a daughter and provide a roof over our heads, and after witnessing my father endure unnecessary stress I knew that following through with a complete education would not only get me out of this poor valley, but give me great satisfaction." She is the first person in her family to pursue education past high school.

AMY BETH TODD, 23, of Lebanon, PA, a repeat HTA scholarship winner now in her second year at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The daughter of harness horse trainer Arthur Giambrone and his wife Mona, a teacher, Amy has been immersed in extracurricular activities and was a Dean’s List and honors scholar while at Penn State University. She was also a Schreyer Honors College Scholarship winner for the last four years, and was in the top 1% of all students enrolled in the agricultural sciences program at Penn State for two years. She groomed in her father’s stable for seven years before attending college. Most recently, she has served on the foal team for equine neonatal intensive care and the colic crew for large animal emergency surgery at Cornell, and after graduation she plans to pursue either an internship or employment in a private veterinary practice.

ROBERT LOUIS TRIBBETT, 21, of Bridgeville, Delaware, a senior at the University of Delaware majoring in marketing, with a minor in management information systems. An HTA scholarship winner in 2001, Robert is the son of Charles Tribbett, a trainer for Allamerican Standardbreds, and his wife Lois. A high academic achiever who will graduate next May, he plans to pursue a masters’ degree in business administration. His grandmother, Ramona Hubbard, has worked in the race offices at four HTA tracks – Harrington Raceway, Dover Downs, Ocean Downs and Brandywine Raceway – and was recently honored for lifetime achievement by the Delaware Standardbred Owners Association. Robert’s father has trained for Fred Hertrich of Allamerican Standardbreds for more than 15 years, and Robert’s uncle Les Givens also is a trainer. Robert groomed for six summers for Allamerican and worked as assistant racing secretary and photo finish operator at Ocean Downs both last year and this summer.

RACHEL A. YOHN, 19, of Columbus, Wisconsin, a junior at Edgewood College in Madison, WI, where she is majoring in biology with minors in chemistry, secondary education and Spanish. The daughter of trainers Robert and Carol Yohn, Rachel plans on a teaching career, hopefully in a bilingual setting. Her family has roots in harness racing going back to her grandfather, Richard Yohn, who bought his first Standardbred to race against his next door neighbor’s horse. Her father has worked in the industry for years, including duty with the late, great Delvin Miller. The family owns and operates a 188-acre farm, and Rachel says she "had no choice but to be totally immersed in the business of harness racing. When mom and dad went to the barn, I went to the barn. When mom and dad did chores, I did chores. When mom and dad went racing, I went racing. I jogged my first horse when I was around 11. Harness racing is something that I will always be involved in because it has had a major role in forming who I am and what I will ultimately do with my life."