The presentation of the 2025 Sazerac Legacy Grant is hosted by Team NW and OHJA. For the 2025 award, the grant funded $2,000 sponsored by BENDing Line Farm. The official transcript is copied below.

This year, this grant will be presenting $2,000 of funds to its recipient, sponsored by BENDing Line Farm. Before I go on to present the award, I’d like to take a moment to talk about Zach and why I decided to create a grant in his name.
Zach was a lot of things to many people. To the people who knew him as Sazerac, he was talented, brilliant, and had a great presence in the ring. To me, Zach was my sunshine. Undersaddle, there was no more confident or kind partner to be with, and he inspired me to be a better rider and competitor to match him. On the ground, he was my world, my anchor in life, and my everything. When he underwent colic surgery last summer, I gave up my last junior year with him, and it was the best decision I’d ever made. Those last months were the best of times with him, and it was an honor to be with him until the very end of his life.

After losing Zach this year, I felt like the sunshine had truly gone from my life. I spent hours looking at thousands of photos and videos of us together, and I felt so humbled by the memories of us together and the opportunity I had with him. I realize that I can never repay the kindness of the world or the sport for the opportunities I was given and the kindness I had, but that I can give back to the OHJA community and honor the greatest privilege we all share as riders of the sport, to be with our horses and make every day with them a great day. I chose the nomination traits of horsemanship, sportsmanship, tenacity, and brilliance to select riders for this grant because I felt like they encompassed all the things that Zach had tried to teach me over the years.

This year, we had an incredible turnout for the grant, receiving many nominations that inspired and resonated with me and members of the OHJA board. I encourage anyone who was not selected for this year’s grant to reapply next year, as we intend to expand the grant in both support and funds. This year’s recipient received two excellent nominations, both of which stressed her dedication to the care of her horses and to the betterment of herself physically and mentally.

It is my honor to present the 2025 Sazerac Legacy Grant, as well as $2,000 of funds sponsored by BENDing Line Farm, to Ayla Notowitz. Accepting the award for her is Akiko, her trainer, and her mother.