Kelley Cox - Awardee 2004

Kelley Cox was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1974, and moved to Ocala, Florida in 1996 where she and her mother relocated their Paso Fino farm-Winning Colors Paso Finos. Since Kelley was very young, she has always loved horses. Her mother got their first horses when Kelley was three, and horses have been a passion ever since then for Kelley. At the age of six Kelley started Hunter/Jumper lessons and owned her first horse, a hunter pony when she was seven.

The family was introduced to the Paso Fino horse in May 1984 at a show in Wills Park, Georgia. After that show Paso Finos took charge of their lives. Kelley started riding Pasos as a sub junior when she was ten. She won her first National Championship for a client when she was 13. As a youth rider, in 1991, Kelley won the High Point Junior Award, and she tied for high point overall youth for that nationals.

With encouragement from many judges, Kelley applied to become a Paso Fino judge at age 18 and received her card at 19. In November 2000, she was invited to and attended an international judges clinic in the Dominican Republic. At the Confepaso Mundial in 1995 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Kelley and Misterio de Besilu, became crowd favorites both presenting the American flag and in winning the World Grand Performance Stallion Championship. Since then Kelley has competed in horse shows in Venezuela and Ponce, Puerto Rico, as well as the numerous shows in the United States and has won many honors and titles for her horses.

Kelley has an associate degree with honors from CFCC in Ocala, and is presently working on her B.A. in animal sciences at the University of Florida when she can squeeze a class into her busy training, judging, and showing schedule. Eventually, Kelley hopes to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, but until then, she is practicing animal sciences every day at Winning Colors through her riding, training, showing, breeding, and care of the many fine Paso Fino horses she and her mother own and those entrusted to her.

As she has devoted 100% of herself and her life to the Paso Fino horse, Kelley is thankful for and appreciates the trust and faith her clients have in her and tries with all of her ability and much tireless work to bring out the best in each and every horse she is given to ride and train.