Passion Project student spotlight

St. Paul student investigates horse health and nutrition

Though she is young, St. Paul Catholic School eighth-grader Evelyn Bishop has been raising her own herd throughout her life. She has raised six to seven horses, and though the animals tower over her, she shows responsibility and respect for the natural world.

“Evelyn is quiet as a mouse, calm as a cucumber, and graceful as a swan,” says Luke Patterson, Bishop’s eighthgrade English teacher, “and is in her element working with 1,000-poundplus horses.”

Horse health, medicine and nutrition are all of interest to Bishop, and that interest has led her to a unique approach to her science project: testing three types of grain to discover which made her barrel horse perform best.

“The first one was protein, then fat and then carbohydrates,” Bishop says. “It took three weeks to complete with the horse eating a different grain each week.”

She hypothesized that the carbohydrates would produce the best results, and after three weeks was surprised to find that the fat-heavy grain pushed her horse, Tink, to their best time. Bishop also tested the horse’s blood sugar throughout the experiment to gauge its energy.

This might seem above and beyond for someone her age, but this deep thinking is nothing new for Bishop.

“Every morning me and my brother wake up at like 6 to feed them, water and clean the stalls; it has really taught me how to do work thoroughly and take care of animals,” Bishop says.

This was no ordinary project that was done solely for a good grade, but something that fuels Bishop’s passion and curiosity.

“A lot of other projects were about plants or things that students may not have had a true passion for,” Bishop says. “My project was about two things I really love to do, which is barrel racing and nutrition/ health and wellness of animals.”

Her science project hasn’t been the only place where Bishop has been able to flex her equestrian knowledge. For a recent argumentative paper in her English class, Bishop explored and expressed her passion for animal health and nutrition.

“My biggest takeaway would be learning more about different veterinary medicines that are in science in general,” Bishop says. “Seeing the logic of everything is cool to understand.”

Aside from these outstanding school assignments and projects, Bishop’s presence is seen through many other school clubs and activities.

“I’m also the president of our 4-H club,” Bishop says. “Previously I have taken pigs to competitions, but this is my third year actually taking cows.”

The livestock animals are shown in the Delaware County Fair while the barrel racing competitions are usually farther, within an hour’s drive. Bishop’s commitment and fascination with horses deepened when she attended the All American Quarter Horse Congress.

“I think I started competitions with horses when I was 9 or 10, when I really thought, ‘Wow, I’m not just into horses, but I am really into horses.’”

Although it may seem Bishop has done it all, she is just getting started.

“This summer I am planning on volunteering at CityPets614 Animal Hospital and also volunteer at Select Sires Beef cow breeding facility,” Bishop says. “After that, I hope I can make my way up to veterinary medicine. Working with dogs and cats would be cool, but mainly working with horses, because, well, you know, I do really love horses.”

living By Maisie Fitzmaurice