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Saturday,ÊD ecemberÊ12,Ê2015
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In SPORTS | Inside
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Winter Sports Preview 15-16
Cooler heads need to prevail
Teams prepare to take court and course
Rodeo dreams
Theresa Stannard earns spot in professional rodeo circuit By Christina Scanlon
christina@suncommunitynews.com
CHESTERTOWN — The Grayrider Ranch in Chestertown is a relatively new venture for Theresa Stannard and her husband, George. They are hopeful that when Theresa joins George in retirement from the New York State Police, the ranch will be in full swing. It’s not the only recent challenge for Theresa to take on, as she quickly earned a spot in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, just months after deciding to up her game from amateur status. Theresa, now 39, credits her path from an upbringing with strong values. “We grew up with responsibility,” she said of her childhood with two younger brothers. “We knew what we had to do.” There was ample influence from an uncle, as well, an inspiration she still feels today.
Early days, ponies and Uncle Bill
In OPINION | pg. 6
A look at gun issues
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In LOCAL | pg. 2
Bright Beginnings
New child care business set to open
“I learned bareback. When the pony wasn’t fast enough, I’d move up to a faster one,” she said. They were her father’s working ponies, short and strong, built for pulling. It wasn’t long before she’d outgrown ponies. Her uncle Bill Ryder was a bachelor. She and her brothers, “were like his kids,” she said. At age 12 or 13, she recalled, Ryder introduced her to something that would heavily influence and shape the direction of her life. “It was my first Gymkhana,” she said of the event, consisting of patterned horse races. It was barrel racing that struck Theresa. “That was the beginning,” she said. She made friends with girls competing in the Adirondack Gymkhana Association. It was then, she graduated from ponies to horses, as her friends allowed her to ride theirs. At age 14, her parents made a deal with her. “If I worked and saved my money, they’d match it,” she said. By the end of the summer she’d earned $250. With $500 in her pocket she bought her first horse. She named her Satin Beauty and she had her for the next five years. “She taught me a lot, but I plateaued on her,” she recalled. “She wasn’t fast enough.” >> Story Continued | pg. 10
Theresa Stannard competes in a barrel racing competition as part of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. Photo provided
Campaign to build a WCS auditorium gains widespread support By Thom Randall
thom@suncommunitynews.com
WARRENSBURG — For many decades, people attending plays, musicals and concerts at both of Warrensburg’s public schools have had their vision of the performances partially blocked by other audience members
seated in front of them. They’ve also put up with poor sound quality, because the schools’ stages are located in the cafeteria in the high school and the gymnasium in the elementary school. In the last two months, a campaign has emerged to build a school district auditorium with professional
acoustics and tiered seating at Warrensburg High School, which if it became a reality, would solve the above problems. Over the last several weeks, the campaign has gained traction via Facebook postings and an Internetbased petition to the school board and administrators, which as of Dec.
8 had 284 signatures and dozens of comments expressing enthusiasm for the idea. The petition is available at iPetitions.com. The plan that’s being advanced is to build a new auditorium without any expense to taxpayers. >> Story Continued | pg. 14