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Tara's Wish for a Show Horse
to Help Her Train for the Olympics
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Tara is a very sweet 16-year-old who has a plan. She has been in training for several years to try out for the Olympics. Her sport is Modern Pentathlon, which covers five different sports in one day: shooting, running, swimming, fencing and show jumping. She always dreamed about participating in the Olympics and was working very hard toward her goal. She had already participated in three national competitions and one international, which she won. In 2005-06 she was discovered by talent scouts and offered a place to train in Colorado Springs for the Olympic Team. By the summer of 2007 she was ranked number one in her age group for the whole northern hemisphere.
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Then she discovered she had leukemia. She was determined, however, that her illness would not slow her down. Continuing to train and run during her illness when she was very weak was a challenge, but she would not give up. Her life revolves around her sport.Tara’s unique wish was not a trip to the Olympics; she wants to earn that on her own. What she did wish for, however, was help in training to make the 2012 Summer Olympic Team. After discussing the different possibilities, it was determined that the best way Make-A-Wish could help her was by finding just the right horse for her to own and train with for the show jumping segment of the pentathlon. “Walk-about,” who was just presented to Tara earlier this month, proved to be just that horse. So, Tara is now on her way to recovery from her illness and training for a coveted spot on the 2012 Modern Pentahlon Olympic Team. Considering all she has done to reach her goal, that possibility is looking very likely.
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