Jockey Club T.I.P. program announces non-competition award winners

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) program announced recipients of its two non-competition awards for 2014 on Monday. The T.I.P. Thoroughbred of the Year Award was given to Nightwatch, and the T.I.P. Young Rider of the Year Award was split among five riders.

The Thoroughbred of the Year Award recognizes a Thoroughbred that has excelled in a non-competitive career. Nightwatch, an 18-year-old son of Daring Groom, is registered as Groomed To Di For. He was unraced, and the New York-bred competed on the hunter/jumper circuit before an injury ended his athletic career. He was then donated to the Virginia Beach Mounted Patrol in 2005, and was retired from those duties in 2011. Since then, Nightwatch has been a therapy horse with the Untamed Spirit Therapeutic & Education Program, in Virginia Beach, Va.

The Young Rider of the Year Award recognizes a rider under 18 who owns or leases a Thoroughbred for use in activities such as 4-H or Pony Clubs. The five riders honored are Chloe Bellerive, age 15, from Keedysville, Md.; Gracie Lukaczer, 16, from Washington, D.C.; Mary Kate Moran, 17, from Richmond, Va.; Melissa Baumann, 14, from South Reading, Vt.; and Sarah Zebe, 15, from Midlothan, Va.

The T.I.P. Awards, created in 2011, recognize and reward the versatility of the Thoroughbred through sponsorship of Thoroughbred classes and high point awards at sanctioned horse shows, performance awards, and non-competition awards.

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