The Governor’s Award for New Jersey Horseperson of the Year is plural.
It went to a the Wunderlichs, a Sussex County family involved in the horse industry for three generations. The trophy was presented at the 66th Annual New Jersey Breeders Awards Celebration at the Horse Park of New Jersey to mark the Month of the Horse in the state.
The Wunderlich family.
The family’s passion and dedication over 50 years has built a successful training business in Lafayette, at the same time as they have been busy volunteering in many locations across the state and country.
Since 2008 Amy, Emily and Lori have worked to build Amy Wunderlich Performance Horses into a successful lesson, training, and breeding facility. They have coached and trained over 40 National and World Appaloosa Champions. They teach more than 70 lessons weekly and have started more than 700 students with their innovative Mommy, Horsey and Me program, which has provided many families hands-on experience, especially throughout the COVID -19 pandemic.
Lori Wunderlich has been a 4-H leader in Sussex County for over 35 years, while Amy and Emily have been leaders for the past 20 years. The family has been involved at all levels of the 4-H program from local club events, officiating at state events, coordinating various contests and competitions, and acting as national team coaches and assistants.
Emily is a program assistant with the state 4-H equine program. In addition, Lori has been a director of the Garden State Appaloosa Association since 1988 and is currently a National Director for the Appaloosa Horse Club. She has served as the National President of the Club since 2020.
Other family members not directly related to the equine industry but integral parts to this successful family include Dan Gurick, Amy’s husband; Travis Vail, Emily’s husband; John Wunderlich, and Daniel Wunderlich. Daniel served for 14 years as a director of the Horse Park of New Jersey, and chairman of the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event for three years.
The third generation of Ryan and Nathan Gurick, and Mason and Wyatt Vail have started to followtheir parents’ lead, doing daily chores on the farm and competing in the show ring, where they have already earned year end awards in New Jersey and nationally.
After the trophy was presented, the family stated, “Today was a very special day. We can’t thank the members of the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board enough for this award. Many people don’t know how involved our entire family has been in the horse industry. We moved to New Jersey in 1988, and from that point on, we hit the ground running.
“In addition to operating the horse farm for the last 15 years, we have a combined 75 years of being 4H leaders, and volunteering countless hours at many different horse show venues, series and regional clubs across the state and Northeast. We can’t thank all of our current and past clients enough for your trust in us. We never would have had the chance at this award if it weren’t for you all.”
Other awards presented included New Jersey Standardbred Horse of the Year, Special Way, New Jersey Sire Stakes Premier Horse of the Year, owned by Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, and Al Libfeld.
Also: the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey Horse of the Year is Oh Well, owned by the SRF Stable of Lighthouse Point, Fla. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horse of the Year He’spuregold , owned by John Bowers Jr. Breeder of the Year is Dr. Seven Dey III of Heritage Hill Farm, which bred the winners of over $3.3 million in 2022, ranking 11th overall in North America.
The Horse Park of New Jersey Volunteer of the Year is Nancy Frenick, who has been a ring steward, jump starter, jump judge, dressage scribe and show assistant for many horse show organizations. Since the Horse Park of New Jersey opened in 1987, she has shown there, sponsored show classes, volunteered in many capacities, donated needed items and offered her professional services for many events. Nancy is the Volunteer Sponsorship Coordinator for the Horse Park and is working on obtaining corporate sponsors.
The New Jersey Youth Horseperson of the Year, Agriculture Achievement Award Winner is Gianna Tanzi, a sophomore at Howell High School, who competes on the 4-H circuit and at open dressage shows. She also volunteers at a riding program for people with disabilities.
The Bell Scholarship went to Alejandra (Sasha) Burns, whose passion for horses began at a young age when her family relocated to a small town in the countryside of Spain. With no prior exposure to horses, they took on three Andalusians and a Dartmoor pony. As a teenager, she began teaching riding to young children lessons with her Dartmoor pony to young children and as she got older her dream of pursuing a career in equine veterinary medicine began to solidify.
Sasha’s academic career at Rutgers University includes doing research work with Dr. Carey Williams and Dr. Karyn Malinowski. In addition to her academic curriculum, Sasha has worked at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center (MAEMC) as both a surgical and treatment technician. She hopes to get a degree in veterinary medicine and pursue an equine surgical residency. Additionally, Sasha aspires to create a non-profit equine rescue organization, combining her knowledge of veterinary medicine and equine-assisted therapy to better assist horses and people.
Superior Achievement Awards have gone to Entirely Smooth Movin and Sonnys Music Man. Entirely Smooth Movin is a 12- year-old Paint owned by Ava Stanker of Bridgeton. His accomplishments include Novice Youth Register of Merit (ROM), Western Horsemanship and APHA Youth Champion, among others.
Sonnys Music Man, a 17-year-old Paint is owned by Dawn Edmonds. In 2021, Sonny received numerous awards in Ranch Pleasure, Youth Color, and other classes.
The New Jersey Agricultural Achievement Award went to Ashley Presgraves of Millville, a senior at
Our Lady of Mercy Academy and an active member of Cumberland County 4-H.