Local rider represents club in state equestrian contest Millstone Twp. teen also shows in Arabian and dressage shows BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer Millstone's Kymberly Tillman, 17, with her horse Screech. Tillman recently represented the New Jersey Half Arabian Club at the New Jersey Equestrian of the Year contest. MILLSTONE - A local horsewoman was one of eight contestants to participate in the New Jersey Equestrian of the Year (NJEOY) contest Kymberly Tillman, 17, Millstone, a senior at Allentown High School, represented the New Jersey Half Arabian Club at the Jan. 27 event sponsored by the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board at the Holiday Inn of East Windsor. Meagan McKee, of Blairstown, won the 2008 NJEOY title. Other contestants were Linda DePinto of the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold, Megan Kinney of Great Meadows, Melissa Reese of Eatontown, and Julie Butler of Trenton. Kymberly's riding instructor, Guilene Mallard of Good Times Farm in Freehold Township, said it was great for Kymberly to represent the club in the contest amidst preparing for college and having a lot of other activities on her plate. "Along with a 2020 on her SATs, she has currently been accepted into a work program at Commerce Bank," Mallard said, adding that Kymberly also traveled to London last year as part of the high school's color guard. "She is a very, very bright young lady of unimpeachable honor and integrity," Mallard said. "Probably one of the most decent girls you could encounter anywhere nowadays." She said Kymberly was understandably nervous during the contest, and the judges were searching for girls with more public speaking experience than Kymberly has had. Mallard said that Kymberly is humble and may need more experience conveying her talents to contest judges. "If she competes again in the NJEOY contest and is recognized for her talents and attributes, she would be a fine ambassador for our industry," Mallard said. Contestants are required to submit an essay as part of the competition. This year's essay question was, "What do you see as some of the immediate problems facing the equine industry in New Jersey?" Kymberly wrote, "The purse sizes are a major factor when it comes to the slumping horse racing industry. Surrounding states have introduced casino games at racetracks to attract more people. The small purses in New Jersey have a negative impact on the breeding programs, preserving farmland and open space, and keeping jobs in the industry. There will soon be no horse industry at all if our purse levels cannot compete with the other surrounding states." Kymberly has received championships and reserve championships at shows at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Upper Freehold. She has been taking lessons from Mallard since she was 8 years old, and Mallard thinks of her as a special human being who would be an asset to anything she gets involved in. Kymberly's mother, Lynn Tillman, said her daughter has applied to three colleges but does not yet know which one she'll attend next year. When Kymberly isn't working, she tries to spend time at the barn with her horse, Naughty Nights AA, also known as Screech. Screech is a big half-Arab, half- Saddlebred gelding that Kymberly shows in Arabian shows and dressage.