Twenty six years of persistence and passion finally paid off for Marilyn Jo Franz when she won the 2015 NCHA Amateur Futurity Final in Fort Worth.
Marilyn marked a 217 aboard Hawks Desire, a horse she bred by EBR Kitty Hawk out of Tina Bars Annie to beat out a large field of 30 competitors.
Marilyn, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, won more than $9,000 to take her total earnings to just under $100,000.
She told CHTO’s Simone Cobb it was a dream come true, made more special by having her nephew, Alex Franz compete in the same final on a horse also by her stud, EBR Kitty Hawk.