Behind the Scenes at the QH Congress – A Star In the Making

October 23, 2024 | Filed under: Around The Ring Galleries,Current Articles,Featured,Show Results & Gallery | Posted by: Delores Kuhlwein

By Delores Kuhlwein

Little did we know when we took this photo of Rye Gill and Shotz With A Cowboy after they won Seventh in the L1 Youth 13 & Under Showmanship at the 2024 All American Quarter Horse Congress, an entrepreneur resides behind that wonderful smile.

Rye Gill, it turns out, has been running a nonprofit for the past few years, and he’s only 13 years old!

What does he do? He makes and packages horse treats, selling them to donate 100 percent of the profits to a charity that is local to him in Ohio – it’s called Humane Ohio.

Rye explains, “Humane Ohio is a small organization doing big things in the community. They help pets in need by offering low cost spay/neutering and even provide pet supplies for pets in need!”

In 2023, explains his mom, Stephanie Gill, he donated over $1100 to Humane Ohio, and he’s on track to donate even more in 2024.

We asked Rye why he felt called to take on such an endeavor, and he explains that it’s his love for animals (specifically Corgis) that inspired a desire to take on animal charity work. He also felt a draw to “enjoy horse showing in a unique way and seeing the horses and humans happy can inspire great things to come along! Some friends of ours had been doing charity work with creative photo shoots with their donkeys, so this led me to making horse and dog treats as a way to have a similar positive impact in the horse show community!”

So instead of just practicing before each show and packing for the show, Rye and his family gather supplies and make the treats, then they deliver them at the show.

“At a state level show, I bake about 30 treat bags. This just takes a couple hours. At the bigger shows, I make lots of extras. I’ll be setting my personal record at the 24 Congress- making 170 treat bags!!! I do this while showing my two horses, so life can be a little crazy at the shows, but I love it!”

When Rye set out to do this, he also decided his recipe needed to “contain high quality, natural ingredients that animals would look forward to,” he says. “These treats feature a blend of oats and peppermint.”