Last fall, 19-year-old Taylor Priest from Springdale, Arkansas, walked into the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center for what she expected to be a typical practice with the U of A ranch horse team.

She instead walked into an arena full of friends and family who gathered around her as her wish, Boone, a new horse, had been granted and was presented to her.

DIAGNOSIS

On Jan. 21, 2020, around the same time as the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest was diagnosed with stage 3&4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She had masses on both sides of her trachea, in her spleen and in her lungs, which made life difficult for the then-17-year-old senior at HarBer High School. For the next six months, she was in and out of the hospital for six rounds, 12 treatments and 48 bags of chemotherapy, finishing that June. Due to COVID-19, only one person was allowed in the room with her. For every treatment, her mother, Sara Hudson, was by her side.

Walking in the arena that special September afternoon, Priest did not realize what was going on at first.

"I'm being honest; my brain didn't register anything going on," she said. "I took a few steps in before I said, 'Oh wait, is this for me?' and Jordan (Shore, coach of the team) just laughed and said, 'Don't those people look familiar?' And I said, 'nope,' and then I saw my mom, and it clicked. I was also wondering why (teammate) Britnee Lynch was there with a horse; it was all super confusing. I'd just gotten back from thrift shopping and then Sonic, which I now know only happened to get me away from the barn. I was super caught off guard and surprised."

MAKE-A-WISH PROCESS

Priest has been in remission since Oct. 7, 2020. She started school at the U of A in the spring as an animal science major with an equine science concentration and a minor in agricultural business.

She has always had a love for horses and figured, "might as well major in something I enjoy." 

"Taylor received treatments at Children's Hospital, which I'm very grateful for," Hudson said. "They really take a hands-on approach at helping parents cope and navigate through at a time when all you can focus on is your child and everything else is just white noise."

In March 2020, Priest was first contacted about her Make-A-Wish. She describes the process as exciting and interesting as she was getting to an age where she might not qualify for a wish. Priest understood how COVID-19 restrictions might impact the wish and she had to be strategic.

"It was super cool that they said they'd grant my wish, since it's usually for kids, and I was aging out of that range," Priest said. "The wish process was crazy with COVID-19; travel was down, and they said don't choose to meet a celebrity because the celebrity gets to choose how they interact with you, so they could hang out with you or simply say hi to you and walk away. I had to sit on my decision for a long time."

Hudson recalled the process started with the social worker, Kara Burge, who made sure they were aware of all the resources available, as well as things like Make-A-Wish.

"She gave me all the literature about it and told me to go online and nominate Taylor," Hudson said.

Priest had several ideas for her wish, which included going to Hawaii or to a dude ranch in Montana, but because of COVID-19 those ideas were put on hold. Since those choices were out, and she could not spend much time around people, she started to ride more and was then approached about joining the ranch horse team, which is housed in the Department of Animal Science in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

She and Hudson talked about joining the team and the need for finding a suitable horse.

"At that time, she didn't have an appropriate horse with the kind of training needed for the ranch team, so she contacted her Wish coordinator and asked if it was possible to change her wish to a ranch horse, and was told that was a definite possibility, and with Jordan's help, Taylor got Boone," Hudson said.

The ranch horse team is a collegiate competitive team that travels to ranch horse shows all over Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and beyond. The team competes in four events at each meet: the ranch pleasure, trail, reining and working cow horse. The purpose is to preserve and demonstrate the versatile ability of the working ranch horse.

Shore is the coach of U of A's team. He's known Priest for about a year. In March, he received an email about her wish. Shore was tasked with searching for the horse that was the right fit. The process included taking Priest to each of the horses that were candidates and her trying them out. Boone a 15-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, was the best fit, and the people who owned him previously were outstanding to work with, Shore said. Hudson knew Priest was officially receiving Boone two weeks before Priest found out. Hudson said it was one of the hardest secrets she has ever had to keep.

Shore said Priest's role on the team is as an active competitor and is the current social media manager. He described Priest as passionate with the motivation to learn and how she enjoyed the process of finding a horse.

"I would describe Taylor as passionate and motivated to learn," Shore said. "She has caught on to what we do on the ranch horse team very quickly, and has jumped in and worked hard helping the team out. Taylor is a strong individual with the utmost character. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Make-A-Wish to find Taylor a horse and would do that a thousand times over for anyone like Taylor."

THE IMPACT

Priest is thankful for Make-A-Wish, those around her who made it all happen and Boone. 

Priest also received a saddle, saddle pad and blanket, tack, grooming kits, a free photography session with Mariah Farmer for Boone and herself, a gift card to the vet for Boone to get his teeth done as well as a gift card to Tractor Supply Store.

"I'm excited about the wish because I love riding horses, and I love Boone and growing with him and building our dynamic," she said.

Hudson describes the great impact the wish had, seeing Priest walk into the arena to finally receive her wish: "It's everything," she said. "Seeing her now living her best life makes me indescribably happy. Watching my child fight for her life and the toll it took on her while not being able to make it better was a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone. So getting to witness the after, so to speak, is amazing. Receiving Boone and being able to ride every day as well as being part of a team has brought her so much joy. She's not the cancer kid to them, she's just Taylor."

Hudson describes Priest as a strong woman who stayed positive throughout treatments and even offered encouragement to other families in similar situations.

"Taylor is an amazing human being," Hudson said. "When she was diagnosed, she didn't let it take her into a dark place. She popped her chin up and announced that cancer was not going to win. She stayed that strong throughout her entire ordeal. She even spoke with parents at the hospital since she was in the unique position of being a child that was sick, but also old enough to speak to adults on their level. She was able to help them understand what their children were going through mentally and how staying strong and positive was the best thing the parents could do to help. Even during the hardest days, she could still find things to laugh about. Standing by her, watching her fight and win with such positivity and strength was awe inspiring. In short, the kid is my hero."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.