The 2014 Governor’s Award for Horseperson of the Year was awarded to Jacque and Cyndee Roszel, of New Egypt, on Jan. 25 at the annual Breeders Luncheon by New Jersey Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Alfred Murray.
The Roszels, former agricultural education teachers and FFA advisors at Allentown High School, have owned and shown horses for the last 45 years.
”Jacque and Cyndee Roszel are tireless supporters of New Jersey’s equine industry,” Assistant Secretary Murray said. “Their love of horses has continued into retirement with both involved in various equine organizations while still taking time to show their horses.”
Mr. Roszel got his first pony at age 6, and both he and Ms. Roszel were 4-H members who showed their project horses, he in Mercer County and her in Morris County. They both were officers in their respective clubs.
”We actually met at a horse show where he mispronounced my horse’s name, and I called him on it,” Ms. Roszel recalled. “That October, we really met on a blind date to the Harrisburg Horse Show.”
The Roszels purchased Mr. Roszel’s father’s farm in New Egypt and have lived there for 35 years. Over the course of their long marriage, their show horses, mostly half-Arabians, have won various regional and local titles and placed in the top ten at national competitions.
They are both original members of the Eastern Half Arabian Horse Association, which later became NJHAHA, and have served as the organization’s president and other officers. They are members of the United States Equestrian Association and the Arabian Horse Association. Ms. Roszel also is a member of the Pinto Horse Association and the Western Dressage Association of America.
A committee of past horsepersons of the year awarded the honor to the Roszels for their dedication to horses and many accomplishments with their show horses.
