Missouri FFA News Releases

Cheyenne Shipps state winner 2009 Missouri FFA Equine Science Proficiency Award

COLUMBIA , Mo., April 16, 2009 –Cheyenne Shipps of the Fair Play FFA Chapter, Fair Play, Mo., was named the state winner of the FFA Equine Science-Entrepreneurship Proficiency Award at the 81^st Missouri FFA Convention.

Shipps, a senior at Fair Play High School, is the daughter of Sam Shipps and Pam Long Shipps. Her FFA advisor is Randy Lightfoot.

As an FFA member, Shipps attended the 2006 and 2007 National FFA Conventions. She is currently serving as area vice president. She has competed in the state dairy cattle judging career development event. She was the 2006-2007 star chapter farmer.

Shipps’ Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) began when she bought her first barrel horse. She started with only performance and breeding animals. Shipps has been actively involved in rodeo from an early age and continues to climb to higher competitive levels.

In exchange for her labor, her parents would provide the facilities, transportation and land for her project. By providing those inputs it has allowed her to save money and expand her program. Knowing how to care for animals and perform necessary practices helps produce more proficient horses that compete at a higher level.

Proficiency awards recognize FFA members who excel as agricultural entrepreneurs, employees or volunteers while gaining hands-on career experiences. Equine Science is one of 47 proficiency awards presented at state level. The Missouri Quarter Horse Association sponsored this award.

The Missouri FFA has 24,410 members representing 317 chapters. The national organization has more than 507,000 members representing 7,439 local chapters in 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Virgin Islands .

The FFA Mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership personal growth and career success through agricultural education.