When Alexander Winslow sees a problem, he does something about it. Even though he’s only 14, the young equestrian frequently takes it upon himself to help without being asked. In October, Winslow found his barn understaffed during a show at Tryon International Equestrian Center (North Carolina). With 14 horses to care for, he didn’t hesitate. He mucked out every stall and made sure each horse was properly fed, groomed and comfortable.

“He’s always wanting to help,” said Ciaran Flynn, Winslow’s trainer at Apex Equestrian in Apex, North Carolina. “He’s a good kid, and if anyone’s ever looking for help or anything like that, he’s the first person there to help, and he’s always asking what he can do.”

Winslow, who also serves his community through a food drive his family started 11 years ago and as a dedicated Boy Scout who chose to help a local therapeutic riding center for his Eagle Scout project, was recognized by the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association at its annual meeting, held Dec. 9-12 in Tucson, Arizona, with the 2024 USHJA Youth Leadership Award.

“Our sport is in really good hands,” USHJA Vice President Charlotte Skinner-Robson said when she presented his award Dec. 10 at the USHJA Evening of Equestrians.

In 2023, as part of his effort to attain Eagle Scout, the highest rank within the Boy Scouts of America, he chose to focus his community service project on the non-profit Horses for Hope therapeutic riding center in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have lessons and own my own horses, and I know the difference they have made in my life,” Winslow said. “Horses for Hope provides therapeutic riding lessons to children with disabilities and life-threatening illnesses, so it’s an important cause.”

After visiting the barn with his father, he realized the riding arena was in desperate need of repairs. Winslow then began raising money so that he could replace the fencing around the area.

“For us, it was a huge impact because it helped revitalize us a bit,” said Whitney Potts, Horses for Hope’s board president at the time. “Right after he had come in and built the arena for us, we had a horse show for the in-house participants, and it was able to make us look happy and thriving.

“Being a non-profit, we don’t have a ton of resources,” she added, “so it was really awesome to see him come in and help us get that going.”

Alongside his older brother William, Alexander helped co-found The Food Drive Kids, a non-profit initiative that has raised over $100,000 and 100,000 pounds of food for those in need. The initiative started over a decade ago, when in spring 2013, first-grader William was concerned the children at his school who relied on food assistance wouldn’t have enough to eat during spring break. To help, he and his family organized a weekend food drive with a local restaurant and grocery store, raising 1,400 pounds of food and $310. That first effort has since grown into The Food Drive Kids.

“My brother started the food drive when he was 6, and he’s four years older than me, so as soon as I could walk, I was helping out with the food drive,” Alexander said. “As he got older, I started to take over and do a little more with it.”

As Alexander matured, his passion for horses deepened. He has been riding for eight years, after sitting on a horse for the first time while visiting his father’s past trainer’s farm. 

The teen’s positive attitude and strong work ethic have earned him the respect and admiration of those around him. This blend of determination is evident in Alexander’s day-to-day actions.

“When it comes to the riding side of it, he’s always willing to learn. Even when we’re at shows and there’s a big class, he’ll sit there, and he’ll watch all the good riders and pick up on something small and ask me about it,” Flynn said. “I’m hard on the kid because I know he can do it. I know when I say something to him, there’s never an answer back. There’s never an ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I can’t do that.’ It’s always the attitude of, OK, let’s give it a shot. I make a mistake, I make a mistake and I learn from it.’”

His commitment has translated into success in the competitive world of show jumping. In 2023, he was part of the gold-medal team at the USHJA Children’s Zone Championships Team Final in Mill Spring, North Carolina, and was selected to participate in a regional session of the MZ Farms/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program.

There he rode with grand prix show jumper Candice King and learned stable management skills from USEF “R” steward Tracy Forman.

“I learned a lot about barn management,” Alexander said. “That was a really interesting part. I learned how to keep things more fluid and how to not spend so much time on things like time management.”

The experience expanded his understanding of the sport beyond riding, giving him new insights into the demands of managing a stable and maintaining peak performance. Alexander later applied that knowledge to his Eagle Scout project at Horses for Hope.

“I think that if you just ride and show, you’re not fully giving all you can to the sport,” he said. “It’s really important to give back to people who can’t do as much or to the people who this sport really means a lot to.”