Miranda Clemens of Columbus Township is the third recipient of the ìReal Gritî Marge Houck Memorial Award.

Clemens, 12, is the daughter of Kathy and Mike Clemens. She attends Century Junior High School in Forest Lake.

She was one of 100 youth equestrians who competed for the award this summer.

The award, presented Oct. 3-4 in North Branch, is given in honor of the late Marge ìGrandmaî Houck by the Houck Horse Company of North Branch.

The award started in 2003 after Houck died of cancer. She fought the disease for 13 years.

The award goes to a youth who shows the same values as Marge Houck that include outstanding effort, good sportsmanship and a desire to try.

The Houck family honors one youth each year based on the results from six summer events and the two-day finals that took place Oct. 3-4.

Miranda took part in all seven Houck events and used three horses during the competition. Two Clemensí horses and a horse loaned by Mirandaís friend Kathleen Dunsmore provided the mounts for the competition.

The Houck family evaluates youth riders throughout the series and makes its final decision based on the evaluation of all youth riders. Clemens placed fourth overall in the 2005 youth series.

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Forest Lake Times
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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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