A horse lover who has entered the TELUS Name the Foal every year for the past three decades says she is ‘beside herself with joy’ after becoming one of this year’s winners.
Lisa White, a legal receptionist from Lethbridge, AB, verged on tears upon learning she had won the super-popular competition, which received 50,000 submissions from thousands of other fans across Canada offering up their best name ideas for a trio of spring foals.
This year, Lisa’s choice, Uptown Girl, makes her one of three 2024 victors.
She is joined by Isabelle Hébert, 32, from Edmunston, NB, and Charmaine Steeves, 35, of Havelock, NB, for their marvelous monikers, Million Dollar Bet and Grand Slam.
The winners and their guests will be treated to a dream VIP weekend at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ tournament, which kicks off Thursday, Sept. 4 and runs until Sunday, Sept. 8, courtesy of TELUS.
Lisa has invited her sister Marie Kesler, 59, who is travelling from Bigfork, Montana, for the ‘experience of a lifetime’. Lisa, 57, said, “I’m so excited. I’ve entered Name the Foal for so many years now that I couldn’t believe I had won. I tried before with names like Gladiator, Magic Man, Merlin…it’s so much fun. I had a good feeling about Uptown Girl. I’m looking forward to following her as she grows up.
“Marie and I love horses. We were raised around them. A change in circumstances and a move to the city meant I had to sell my last mare twenty years ago. This win has brought us so much happiness. Thank you, TELUS and Spruce Meadows. We are so happy — over the moon!”
The three winners and their guests will enjoy a VIP weekend where they will meet the foals and attend a number of thrilling show jumping and entertainment events at Spruce Meadows, in what is the tenth anniversary of TELUS sponsoring the Name the Foal contest.
TELUS is proud of its long-standing partnership with Spruce Meadows, with 2024 marking the 35th year of the partnership and the 10th year presenting Spruce Meadows’ Name the Foal contest.
The contest originated at Spruce Meadows in the 1980s, with guests dropping name suggestions into a ballot box. It was opened up to the entire country in the early 90s, and has garnered millions of entries since, with the top names selected by a committee of Spruce Meadows judges. The only rule is that entrants must follow traditional naming conventions of the Hanoverian breed, meaning foals’ names must begin with the same first letter of their sire’s, or father’s, name.
For a full schedule of ‘Masters’ events, visit here.