Page 63 - February 3 2019

DAWN AND RHONDA LIST
Mildred N. Vessels Special Achievement Award
Rhonda and Dawn List have operated Double Bar S Ranch, in Moreno Valley, California, since the death of their father,
Jens List, Jr., in 1996. Double Bar S Ranch was named Champion Owner in 2011. The ranch has bred 150 winners and the earners of more than $6.65 million including Champion Jess You And I.
Rhonda and Dawn are active participants
in the Quarter Horse racing industry through- out the country. They are lifetime members of the American Quarter Horse Association, the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association,
and the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association. Rhonda serves on the AQHA Racing Committee and the 2011 AQHA Racing Champions Selection Committee, and has been a board member of the PCQHRA.
Rhonda and Dawn annually support the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund, Race Track Chaplaincy of America, Race For
A Cure, Texas A&M University Legends Premiere Stallion Season Auction and the PCQHRA Political Action Committee.
Under the leadership of Rhonda and Dawn, and with the never-ending support of their
mother, Sharon, Double Bar S Ranch is one of the leading breeders in the industry.
“Everybody always says, when we win a big race or have an award or a good sale, ‘Your dad would be really proud of you.’ And he would. But our mom is at home, holding down the fort for us. We don’t thank her often enough. We need to thank her, too. She lets us do what we want to do,” said Dawn. “Our mother gave us the reins after our father passed away. She said ‘Do you want to continue on?’ And we said yes, so she gave us that opportunity, and that’s our life now. We love it.”
The Mildred N. Vessels Special Achievement Award is given yearly to an outstanding woman to recognize her achievements over the past year in the American Quarter Horse racing indus- try. The winner is selected by a vote of the AQHA Racing Committee.
Mildred “Millie” Vessels was a lifelong horsewoman whose heritage ran deep through American Quarter Horse racing. Born in 1923 in Blythe, California, Millie grew up in Long Beach. In 1948 she married Frank Vessels, Jr., whose father established Los Alamitos Race Course.
Previous Winners:
2010–Vel Evans
2009–Mary Kyler 2008–Ann McGovern 2007–Carol Cooper 2006–Ginny Harding 2005–Joan Dale Hubbard 2004–Jean Dillard 2003–Tomey Swan 2002–Sandy Erwin and Janet
VanBebber (tie) 2001–Debbie Schauf
2000–Amy L. Owens 1999–Mrs. Gwendolyn Eaves 1998–Vessels/Knorpp et al (“The
Girls”) 1997–Donna McArthur
1996–Tami Ann Purcell 1995–Shirley Schvaneveldt 1994–Connie Hall
SPEEDHORSE, February 3, 2012 61
Stacy Pigott/Speedhorse