Thirty livestock and horse show exhibitors will receive a four-year, $18,000 college scholarship as an additional incentive for participating in the 2015 Houston Livestock Show™. The $540,000 in exhibitor scholarships is part of the nearly $13 million in scholarships included in the Show’s 2015 educational commitment of more than $24 million.
“The exhibitor scholarships showcase the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s core values: supporting agriculture and education,” said Allyson Tjoelker, executive director of agricultural competitions and exhibits. “The Show is excited to give back to the young exhibitors who help make the Houston Livestock Show the biggest and best in the world.”
In addition to the exhibitor scholarships, the Show has committed more than $7.34 million to young exhibitors in the form of junior market auction guarantees, additional premiums and calf scramble awards.
“These exhibitor scholarships are yet another reason to participate in the Houston Livestock Show,” said Joel Cowley, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. “The Show will continue its more-than-80-year mission to find new avenues of support for youth engaged in agriculture.”
To apply for the exhibitor scholarships, students must meet the following requirements:
- be a U.S. citizen,
- be a Texas resident,
- be a graduating high school senior from a Texas public high school,
- score a minimum of 1350 on the SAT or 19 on the ACT,
- be ranked at the top third of their class during the first semester of their senior year,
- intend to attend an accredited, not-for-profit Texas college or university and participate in a curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree,
- participate in one or more of the approved competitions in the 2015 Show year,
- and have competed at least once within the past three years (2012 – 2014).
The approved competitions are:
- Livestock Show
- Junior Breeding Shows (beef heifers, gilts, sheep)
- Junior Commercial Steer Feeding and Management Contest
- Junior Dairy Cattle Show
- Junior Market Shows (barrows, broilers, goats, lambs, steers, turkeys)
- Horse Show
- All-Breed Youth Horse Show
- Cutting Horse Show (AQHA, NCHA)
- Donkey and Mule Show
- Paint Horse Show
- Palomino Horse Show
- Quarter Horse Show
Exhibitor scholarship applications will be judged using the standard Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo scholarship evaluation process. Exhibitors will receive additional credit for participating in multiple youth horse shows and livestock show competitions throughout the course of the past four years. Performance evaluations or place ranking within each show will not influence the outcome of the scholarship awards.
Exhibitor scholarship recipients also may be eligible for the Achievement Scholarship Program, which allows college students currently receiving Show scholarships to apply for an additional $4,000 per semester, for up to four semesters, once they reach their junior and senior years of undergraduate studies. To be eligible to apply, existing Show scholars must have been classified as a junior or senior by the conclusion of the spring semester, and have completed a minimum of four college semesters since their high school graduation, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Visit rodeohouston.com more information on all Show scholarships. Scholarship applications are now available, at rodeohouston.com, and due Feb. 23, 2015.