2025 Grant Recipient
The Sazerac Legacy Grant honored its first recipient last night at a presentation hosted by Team NW and OHJA before the Grand Prix at the NW Spectacular horse show in Wilsonville, OR.
The Presentation
The presentation of the grant began shortly after the lead line, with OHJA President Beka Swan holding the perpetual trophy alongside me in the ring. There was a short pause after the announcer’s introduction to adjust the microphone, but then I was able to give my speech without incident. Following a brief introduction to myself and my connection to the grant for anyone who didn’t know me, I began to tell the audience a bit about Zach.
Ella Delgado and Beka Swan presenting the Sazerac Legacy Grant
PC: McCool Photography
“For those who knew him as Sazerac, he was talented, brilliant, and had a great presence in the ring. To me, Zach was my sunshine.” I told the audience a bit about what Zach meant to me, doing my best to keep my voice calm and even. I reflected that Zach had meant so much to me that I gave up my final junior year in 2024 to be with him, and how it led me to savor our time together. I meant it when I said that it was an honor to be with him until the very end of his life. Traumatic and sad as it was, it was also the last moment I got to be with my heart horse, and I can’t bring myself to regret any of our moments, even the unfortunate ones.
The loss of Zach truly was the sunshine exiting my life for a while. Despite my sadness, our memories were always my favorites, and reminiscing on them led me to found this grant with OHJA. The world and sport have shown me a great deal of kindness and opportunity over the years, and now I have the chance to give back. OHJA and the OHJA community supported Zach and my career together, so it was only right that I should give back to it and honor the greatest lesson Zach taught me. Zach taught me that the most incredible privilege of the sport was being with the horses and making every day with them a great one. I sincerely hope that I can allow the grant recipient to enjoy the opportunity as much as possible while easing the financial burden associated with opportunities for juniors.
The 2025 Sazerac Legacy Grant Recipient
It is truly my honor to recognize the 2025 Sazerac Legacy Grant Recipient, Ayla Notowitz. Her nominations resonated with me because of her dedication to the care of her horses and her own personal betterment in all aspects. She is a true sportsman, someone I’ve never heard a bad word about, and someone who had people talk about her because of her kindness and passion.
Ayla’s mother, Beth, and trainer, Akiko accepting the award on her behalf
PC: McCool Photography
I look forward to cheering her on as she takes her horse Telchac LS to the USHJA Zone Team Jumper Challenge.
Watch the full presentation here.
Ayla’s Nominations
While I was unable to read them during the presentation, I think it bears importance to show the nomination letters that Ayla received. From reading the letters, it is clear that Ayla’s commitment and exemplification of all the traits of the Sazerac Legacy Grant are prominent with her and recognized by those around her.
Letter 1:
To whom it may concern,
We are writing to nominate Ayla Notowitz for the Sazerac Legacy Grant. In the five years that Ayla has ridden with us at Stellar Sport Horses, she has proven herself to be an exemplary member of this sport. She has a drive and dedication that has fueled her growth as a rider and pushes for excellence in and out of the saddle. Her competitive nature is met with grace and humility as she faces every high and low of this sport with great resilience and determination. Well-known for working hard in and out of the barn to meet her goals, Ayla pushes herself to be the strongest and healthiest she can be physically and mentally to show up as the best partner to her horses. Spending all her free time outside of her busy school schedule, she is often spending hours at the barn taking care of her two geldings, making sure they are well groomed, bathed, iced and cared for before and after every ride. On days she isn’t riding her horses she is eager to know how they were and takes all feedback to heart and works hard to improve upon her rides. While she shows great dedication to her own goals she is equally as supportive and encouraging to riders in and out of our barn. Exhibiting great sportsmanship, she is well known for being at the ring to cheer others on, video rounds, wipe down boots, help set jumps and be a supportive in any way she can to her fellow barn mates and peers. It is with highest regard that we, her trainers, nominate Ayla for the Sazerac Legacy Grant, thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Akiko Hamada and Nicole Greenwood
Stellar Sport Horses
Ayla Notowitz and her horse Telchac LS
PC: Anasofia Vazquez Photography
Letter 2:
Hello,
My name is Susanne Fernald and I would like to nominate a young rider that I ride with for the Sazerac Grant.
I’ve known Ayla Notowitz for 5 years- and had the privilege of watching her grow with her horses. She started with a jumper pony named Petunia, moved up to Angelo and now has a horse named Telchac LS. Over the years she has consistently been dedicated to her horses, becoming a better horseman, and jumping higher. She comes out to groom her horses on evenings when she doesn’t ride, she’s constantly hand-walking them at shows, and she is always eager to get feedback after her rounds for improvement. Ayla will be going to the team challenge in Temecula this year, her last as a youth rider. She participated in the 1.0 meter team challenge last year- and it was incredible to watch her gallop around the Grand Prix ring with such confidence. She’s worked hard for every clean round- and worked even harder after rounds that require a bit more attention. She exemplifies the word sportsmanship and teammate, and her relationship with her horses would make Ella and Zach proud.
