Congrats to Hedi Banks

for being this months member 

spotlight!

While my family has always had horses,

 I started showing at the age of 7 with a 

14.2hh grade pony who was aptly named

 Spike. Little did I know that he would

 fuel the fires for a life long passion that 

even now, twenty years later, attracts all of 

my attention, despite working outside of 

the industry. After graduating from 

Virginia Tech with dual degrees in 

Business Information Technology

 and Marketing Management, I 

got a job working in telecom

 for BellSouth, now owned by AT&T. I've

 been with the company for five 

years, although I'll gladly tell anyone

 and everyone that the horses

 are "what I work for!" I live on a farm in

 Tyrone, GA and divide my time equally

 between the ranch horses and (surprise!)

 hunter jumpers. It's pretty funny to walk

 down the aisle and see a 16.2hh horse in one

 stall and a 13.3hh one in another. I currently

 have 7 horses, 1 miniature donkey, and 2 

great danes… need less to say my life is very

 full! I also sit on the board of a large show

 series, run my countys 4-H horse program,

 and teach free riding lessons to five very

 deserving individuals three days a week

 (most of you have probably seen several

 of them around at the shows!). I'm very

 grateful to my parents for providing me 

with such a wonderful start and continuing

 to support me every step of the way. I'd also 

like to thank Brandon Sutton Performance

 Horses for a lot of my success in the

 ranch horse ring. And if you come to any

 ARHA show and see a bay roan named

 Kiss My Dually with a blonde girl

 riding in just about every amateur class

 offered, be sure to say hello!