Mariah Wright Wins HHI scholarship

Mariah N. Wright, 17, of Stockbridge, Michigan, has been awarded the 2010 Harness Horsemen International Jerome L. Hauck Scholarship, worth $4,000.
 
Miss Wright, a 2010 graduate of Stockbridge’s Leslie High School, carried a GPA of 3.75 and was a Congressional Medal of Merit winner during her senior year. She was active both scholastically and in extra-curricular sports, receiving the Coaches and MVP Awards in Varsity Volleyball during her junior and senior seasons. Miss Wright also volunteered her time at the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter and at Leslie Outreach.
 
Hailing from a harness racing background, Miss Wright hopes to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine.
 
"Harness racing has always been an important aspect of my life," Wright wrote in her scholarship application. "Spending time in the racing industry opened my eyes to many things, including lameness in horses, and the hardships of grooms, trainers and drivers.
 
"I plan to be a veterinarian specializing in the lameness of harness horses," Wright continued. "I hope to study and research bone structure in order to reduce the number of horses who cannot reach their full potential due to lameness issues. In high school I have been able to develop my interests in classes such as biology and animal physiology."
 
Miss Wright is the daughter of veteran Michigan-based trainer-driver Darrell Wright and his wife Gina. She is also the recipient of a $500 FFA Scholarship and a $1,500 scholarship from the Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association.(HHI)