Milaca's Jordan Kurtz is FFA Star in Ag Placement
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 05/19/2010 3:37 PM
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MILACA, Minn. — Minnesota FFA's 2010 Star in Agricultural Placement, Jordan Kurtz, is zealous over two things: She loves her horses and she loves FFA.
The Milaca High School senior and her mother, Shelly, have 13 horses. Half are active show animals and the others are retired, Kurtz said. She works with all areas of the horse business from training to showing on the family's small acreage.
Her horses are the foundation for her Supervised Agriculture Experience she started as a freshman. But her interest in FFA and ag classes started years before she was able to join, Kurtz said.
As a seventh grader, Kurtz and her classmates learned about organizations and courses they could be involved with in the future. When the school's FFA chapter officers talked about the organization, Kurtz became excited. She told her friends that one day she wanted to be one of those officers giving that same presentation. Her interest was peaked when they mentioned a horse judging contest.
She admits she was relentless in her desire to enroll in agriculture courses and to join FFA.
"I always bugged Mr. (Doug) Olson, the advisor, to join FFA," she said. "He would always say I could join when I became a 9th grader. I'd say that's a goofy rule and he'd say he was sorry, but he didn't make the rules."
Her quest continued as an eighth grader. She continued to talk repeatedly with Olson about joining the chapter. She also talked to his wife who also served as an ag instructor.
"I am sure they got really annoyed with me," she said. "But it paid off because here I am."
Her hopes were almost dashed as a 9th grader, however, when she learned the class was full. A discussion with the Olsons, however, opened up a space for the zealous Kurtz.
She joined the horse judging team and was excited by the contest and the organization. She realized, however, that there was much more to the organization. She wanted to get more involved.
Kurtz became a Milaca FFA Chapter officer as a sophomore and has served as chapter president both her junior and senior year.
She's worked with Lloyd Anderson, the Minnesota Horse Council Person of the Year, training and caring for horses.
The experience combined with her own horse knowledge helped her take first in region competition and at state for horse proficiency in 2009.
Her next step was the star application.
The contest at state included an interview and description of horsemanship skills from clipping to showing and training plus organization and time management. She was also judged on her parliamentary knowledge.
Although she's not confident in her parliamentary knowledge, Kurtz's application and interview garnered her the state star.
Her path has had its shares of highs and lows including the death of her father, Jay, when Kurtz was in sixth grade. She recalls retreating from activities for awhile as she mourned her father.
"I remember the first words out of my mouth when I learned about his accident and death were, 'Can we keep the horses,'" she said. That was my biggest fear was moving into town. Even by saying that, I didn't really see the horses as important because I felt guilty that I was happy and he couldn't be here."
As she reflected on her father, a man, she says, who loved to laugh, she realized he would want her to accomplish things with the horses.
"I said I wasn't going to act like I was in a shell anymore," Kurtz said. "He wouldn't want that. This is a new day. I've walked through that door and now I'm moving on."
She credits her mom, Shelly, who's "helped a ton."
It was Shelly and her experience raising horses that got the family involved in owning, caring for and training horses. Shelly didn't force Kurtz's involvement in the horses or shows. But she encouraged her and mentored her along the way.
"When I had FFA activities and I didn't have my drivers license yet, mom would drive me," Kurtz said. "I know too many kids who go to competitions and they reach a point where they don't want to do it anymore. My mom made it always seem like ti was my idea. She just wanted me to work to do better."
Kurtz plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in eh fall majoring in ag education with an emphasis on equine. She'd like to teach 7 to 12 graders and is excited to know several Minnesota schools that have equine programs.
She doesn't plan to leave her horsemanship abilities behind, she said. Kurtz would like to breed, train and care for American Quarter horses as well.
"I think that would be a lot of fun," she said. "It would be something very rewarding. Horses, you see, are basically my life. My life really revolves around them...and FFA."