2003 NYCHA Hall of Fame Inductees

Tennessee Walker
is the son of Gary and Mary Walker. On his way to the youth hall of fame, he rode many great horses including Doctor San Man, Rips Tender Girl, High N' Fancy and Smart Hickory Oak. He also picked up two Youth Champion titles at the Eastern National Championships in Jackson, Mississippi – once as a junior in 1998 and again as a senior in 1999. Never far from the top of the results, he earned the Reserve Champion Senior title in 2000 and finished 3rd in 2003. During those years, his favorite show horse was High N' Fancy because the horse was also his friend.

Tennessee says, "I could ride him bareback and upside down if I wanted and he would never flinch." This hall of famer is currently a senior at Texas A&M University where he's studying Business Management and later plans to earn a law degree. Although he's gone off to college, he still finds time to show as a non-pro. He would like to thank his parents for continually pushing him to do good things and a special word of thanks to his dad, Gary for always providing him a good horse to ride. Looking back at his youth experience, Tennessee feels that showing cutters was a great experience because it allowed him to meet so many wonderful people and it instilled in him an intense competitive nature. Congratulations on your many accomplishments Tennessee and welcome to the Youth Hall of Fame.

Amanda Cathleen Evans,
daughter of Dr. Rory and Diane Evans, has been riding horses on her family ranch since the age of two. At nine she began participating in NCHA competitions. Her favorite cutting memory is being selected to ride with Joe Montana and Sonny Rice in the Celebrity, Youth and Legends Cutting in December of 1996. Amanda has ridden various family owned horses over the years including Docs Tivito, Pudden Sug, Data Lena and Brinks Hickory Lena. She fondly recalls her photos taken after becoming the 1996 Jr. Youth Summer Spectacular Champion. Data Lena had become impatient during the photo shoot as it was interrupting his dinner so he decided to take a bite out of Amanda's vest. Amanda keeps the vest, holes and all, in memory of Data Lena, the horse that she feels taught her how to ride a cow horse.

Amanda is thankful to numerous people for their continued support. First, and foremost she would like to thank her parents who have encouraged her both in and out of the cutting arena. Amanda would like to express her gratitude to Ted Sokol and Teddy Johnson who taught her the fundamentals of cutting. She would also like to thank her siblings for their compassion and enthusiasm. Most importantly, she would like to thank her sister Lisa who passed away this year but continues to be her inspiration and remains her greatest fan.

Amanda greatly appreciates the opportunities that being a member of the NYCHA has presented. She has been able to travel, develop friendships that will last a lifetime and continues to have a strong sense of family. Amanda is truly honored to be a recipient of this award and hope to have cutting be a part of her life for years to come. Congratulations on your many accomplishments Amanda and welcome to the Youth Hall of Fame.

Lee Gandy
is the reining Senior Youth World Champion and now adds the Youth Hall of Fame to his list of accomplishments. He is the son of Jim and Jan Gandy of Frisco, Texas and plans to transfer to Texas A & M this fall to major in Ag Business. Lee enjoyed hauling so much that he is a two time senior youth world champion and also has a reserve world title to his name. He's made the finals ten times at the youth events in Jackson, Ogden and Fort Worth. He has been to so many shows that he says they have run together in his head, so not one thing stands out as a specific cutting accomplishment. The things that stand out the most are the friends he's made, the all night drives across the countryside and the experiences that will help him in the future.

The horse that Lee showed the most is Foxy Olena, a solid weekend warrior. Foxy Olena is the first horse that Lee ever showed back in 1995 and has carried him ever since. Foxy Olena is now 24 and has been retired to the pasture. Obviously, Lee would like to thank his parents for all their support over the years, not only moral support but financial support as well. They where always there for him whether he won or lost. He would also like to thank all the people that have helped him over the years. Many friends and trainers have been there to either turnback, tune a horse or just help in what ever way they could.

Ted Straub
says that cleaning stalls has given him the incentive to achieve more in life. Well, tonight we would like to recognize Ted for his cutting accomplishments so far and welcome him to the Youth Hall of Fame. Ted has been an active cutter in Nebraska where he's been in the youth high point standings since 1996. He has also been a finalist in Forth Worth and in Jackson several times. His favorite cutting memory is when he placed a whoopee cushion on the judges seat. She plopped down on it and everyone got a big laugh. Then when Ted showed in the youth class she gave him a 60. After a good laugh, she changed it to the real score of 76.

Recently, he had the opportunity to spend some time with Bill Freeman, Merrit Wilson and Josh Townsend. He says he learned a lot about horses, cutting AND practical jokes. Currently, Ted is attending college and is a starter on the football team. Somehow, its not a big surprise that he's also very active on the social committee and spends a lot of time getting in shape for football and chasing girls. He plans to be a successful business man and the CEO of a fortune 500 company. He would like to thank his family – Mike and Sue Christensen for their support, especially his fabulous stepdad – Mike, because he has taught Ted a lot. Congratulations on your many accomplishments Ted and welcome to the Youth Hall of Fame.

JR Cook
is the son of Jack and Glenda of Daytona Beach, Florida. He has been cutting for 8 years and has earned his place in the youth world standings during 3 of those years including a Senior Youth Reserve Champion title in 2001. Along the way he has also made the finals in Jackson 5 times including earning the Senior Youth Champion title in 2001. JR has shown many horses during those years including Playboys Dude, Playful Son, Lea's Pretty Woman and Oakanita's Last.

His favorite cutting story is when he flew to Jackson, Miss on a Friday morning to show Oakanita's Last, then flew to Camedon, South Carolina to show Playful Son and won both shows. JR is currently attending college but still finds time to show in between his work schedule and studying for exams. He plans to continue showing as long as possible and work at the family business. He would like to thank his parents, his grandparents – Bob and Joce Cassata, Robert Rust, Ted Sokol and Billy Kidd for their support throughout the years. Congratulations on your many accomplishments JR and welcome to the Youth Hall of Fame