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Boone County Elite 4-H Equestrian Drill Team aims to raise funds to ride in presidential inaugural parade


By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune reporter

It’s “hustle and bustle time” for Boone County’s Elite 4-H Equestrian Drill Team to raise the necessary funds to secure their place in the inaugural parade for President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. on January 20.

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Elite team coach and drill master Pam Pickett says the opportunity came about when she contacted Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office to find out how to get an application for her team to be considered for the parade.

She says explained that they weren’t a band but an equestrian team and the contact at Sen. McConnell’s office asked if she could submit a photograph or video. Once she provided the requested photograph and YouTube video of the team — which happens to be the Reserve Grand Champions of the Kentucky State Fair – she received a phone call from Sen. McConnell’s office informing her that the team would indeed be recommended to ride in the inaugural parade.

Five weeks later they received a phone call from the inaugural committee giving them until the next day to decide if they would attend.

“That’s how quickly we got invited. Within two days we were in,” says Pickett.

The Boone County Elite 4-H Equestrian Drill Team consists of two drill teams. This particular team, says Pickett, is one that she and fellow coach Susan Elslager, of Johnny Walker Stables in Burlington, developed eight years ago. The idea was to lease horses to children who might not otherwise have the means to have one of their own, and give them a chance to ride.

The all-female members of Boone County’s Elite 4-H Equestrian Drill Team range in age from 10 to 17-years-old.

“Some have been riding on the team for six years now,” says Pickett. “Some started with riding lessons that I started giving them yeas ago. It’s been a joy watching them grow up.”

Pickett says when a committee member for the inaugural parade asked if she thought the team would be able to get the money to ride in the parade, she told them, “We’re coming.”

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“Now it’s hustle and bustle time,” says Pickett. “Right now, we’re trying to fund the biggest part of the trip, which is hauling the horses. That’s going to cost $4,500.”

The horses are expected to be boarded 17 miles from the parade route, she says. Add the likelihood of special shoes for the horses, along with boarding at $100 per horse, and the cost for the children, and she says they’re looking at raising roughly $8,000 for the once in a lifetime opportunity for the kids.

Due to Secret Service and security issues, she says the team is required to arrive in Washington, D.C. on January 17.

For a team that was overwhelmed with pride to learn that they were recommended by Sen. McConnell’s office to represent Kentucky, the official invitation to ride in the parade is something they’re hugely excited about.

“They know this is a historical moment they will be part of, and they’re overwhelmed that they’ll be riding in something this big,” says Pickett.

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Pickett’s pretty excited about the opportunity too.

“I am bringing my horse out of retirement so I get to ride,” she says. “It’s been on my bucket list. To take the girls is even more exciting.”

The team has several efforts in place to raise money for the trip.

A GoFundMe page was created, and an account has been established at Heritage Bank for the team. At press time, the team had raised just $525 on the GoFunMe page, so it will take a true community effort (or a few very generous donors) to send the team to the nation’s capital. Picket says money for the trip can also be sent to her address at Pam Pickett, 3541 Opossum Path, Burlington, KY 41005.

Contact Vicki Prichard at vicki@nkytrib.com


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One Comment

  1. karen Murphy says:

    Are you sure you want to be involved in any way with honoring a narcissistic Nazi? You would be on the wrong side of history with no excuse as we all know how dangerous he is.

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