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Sharon Witherspoon: Fulfilling a dream
By Lillian Gonnell
May 14, 2003

I can do all things through Him which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:13

Sharon Witherspoon, the daughter of Annell and Joe Witherspoon of Bells, knows exactly what she wants to do with her life.  Her mother says Sharon seems always to have known. 

After Sharon receives her Bachelor of Arts degree from Midway College in Kentucky, she will continue fulfilling the dream she's had since she was a pre-schooler by becoming the new Assistant Equine Director at Camp El Har in Dallas.

Sharon ignored numerous “nay-sayers” who discouraged her from pursuing a career in the equine industry.  “I was not born into the industry, so they figured I could not make it,” she remembers.  “I even had one teacher in school refuse to let me use any aspect of horses in relation to projects because this person felt I would not get anywhere in this field and therefore would be a waste of my time.”

Instead of being swayed by the negative, she turned to the positive: the encouragement of her loving family and friends and her faith.  “God has been the source of strength that has kept me going.  I have clung to Philippians 4:13 all my life, and it has proven true on numerous occasions.”

After graduating in 1999 from Bells High School, Sharon enrolled in one of the nation’s premier colleges for Equine Studies, Midway College.  Midway, Kentucky’s only college for women, is located in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky, the center of the horse industry.

In addition to maintaining a Dean’s List scholastic average, Sharon competed in Intercollegiate Horse Show Association events.  In 2001, she placed fourth in the Intermediate Western Horsemanship Division at the IHSA, Zone 5 Region 1 Championships and in 2002 participated in the Regional Championships in Advanced Western Horsemanship, Zone 6, Region 2.  As part of her degree requirements, Sharon also completed an internship in the equine industry with the Glaser family of Red Rock.

Sharon will receive her degree in Equine Studies with a concentration in Equitation Instruction on May 10 and then immediately begins her new position as Assistant Equine Director at Camp El Har, a nondenominational Christian camp.  Camp El Har, nestled in a 165 acre woods in SW Dallas County near Duncanville, is a year round camp, equestrian, retreat and outdoor education center.  The camp was established in 1937 and in 1997 became the first independent Christian camp in the state of Texas.  Sharon will be working under Equestrian Director, Mylinda Smiley.

Through hard work and faith, Sharon is well on her way to a career she’s wanted all her life.  Even the dream of her own horse was recently realized when Barbara Nelms gave her a filly as a graduation gift.

 “I also plan to train my filly and help her reach her full potential,” she adds.

Websites of interest:

Midway College

http://www.midway.edu/

The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association

http://www.ihsa.com/

Camp El Har

http://www.capelhar.org/

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