from Harness Tracks of America

Tucson, AZ — Five college students with high marks, high hopes and high ideals have been named winners of Harness Tracks of America’s 2010 college scholarships.

Each has harness racing family connections and each receives a $5,000 check toward their college education. All the winners have worked with harness horses and in harness racing.

The winners are:

Shawni Deyermand, 18, Jefferson, Ohio, daughter of trainer Larry DeyErmand and his wife Tricia, a dental hygienist. A straight-A graduate of Jefferson High School, Shawni is a freshman at Ohio’s John Carroll University, majoring in finance with a goal of obtaining an MBA and becoming a financial manager. She won the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce Youth Community Service Award last year, the President’s Volunteer Service Award this year, academic excellence awards for three years, including the Dean’s List at Kent State University, where she participated in a post secondary program.

Chelsea Fahy, 19, Washington, Pennsylvania, daughter of trainers Bill and Moira Fahy. A student at the University of Findlay in Ohio with a major in pre-veterinary medicine and minors in chemistry and mathematics, she has displayed exceptional academic excellence and won numerous honors for extra curricular activities. She won first or second place awards for three straight years from the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, registering a perfect score in one of them, and has won other veterinary, horse show and rabbit breeding honors.

Stephanie Huebner, 19, Plain City, Ohio, daughter of Stephen Huebner, an industrial operations manager, and Kay Huebner, a teacher. A straight-A student at Otterbein College with a remarkable list of extracurricular honors, Stephanie — a licensed groom who has worked with the family’s horses and others — is majoring in equine business and facility management with a minor in business management, and is eyeing a career in track management. With glowing educational references, she is the winner of the HTA Scholarship committee’s inaugural HTA June Bergstein memorial scholarship for academic and social excellence.

Chelsea Massie, 19, Sycamore, Ohio, daughter of trainer Curt Massie and his wife Jeanne, an industrial worker at Timken Roller Bearings. Taking courses in organic chemistry and animal behavior and reproduction at the University of Findlay, Ohio, Chelsea hopes to work as a veterinary technician. She has worked as a groom at Northfield Park and won endorsement from the track’s Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association representative, among others.

Andrew Venier, 17, Pemberville, Ohio, son of harness horse owners Daniel and Cheryl Venier. A freshman at Mercy College of Northwest Ohio in Toledo, Andrew has groomed horses in the family stable. An Eagle Scout whose project was to build garden beds that are wheelchair accessible for residents of an assisted living facility, he has dedicated his life to helping others in need, including mentoring children who have lost loved ones, and he plans a career in nursing.

The winners were selected by HTA’s Scholarship Committee, consisting of 10 HTA directors and racing industry executives from around the country, co-chaired by Jeffrey Smith of Hoosier Park and David Snyder of International Sound Corporation.