Horse trainer competes for national honor

Published 4:10 pm Friday, November 10, 2017

Wilmore horse trainer Kelly Murphy-Alley is on the ballot for the third-annual National Horse Trainer of the Year award from Greatmats.

Greatmats, a specialty flooring systems company based in Wisconsin, has named 13 different candidates from 10 different states as contenders for this year’s award. The company says each candidate is “making a positive impact in their communities through their work with horses and beyond.”

Voting will take place on Greatmats’ Facebook page, with the ballots open from Nov. 16 to 30. The company will award the National Horse Trainer of the Year with its own horse stall mats or a cash option, according to its website.

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According to her bio on the Greatmats website, among Murphy-Alley’s qualifications was the work she did to give a retired racehorse named Storm Prospector a second chance and second career as a successful barrel-racing horse in the 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover competition.

It also describes the Wilmore trainer as a “teacher, coach and mentor to young girls in barrel racing.”

For more on Kelly Murphy-Alley, visit the website of her horse-training operation, Striking KMA Performance Horses, at https://www.strikingkmaperformancehorses.com/. Greatmats can be found online at www.greatmats.com.