NCTA students gain real industry experience preparing Thoroughbred yearlings for auction
CURTIS, Neb. — Two Thoroughbred yearlings gave Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture students an opportunity to apply classroom learning to a real industry experience, from developing feeding plans and providing daily care to preparing horses for sale and communicating with buyers.
The yearlings, consigned by O’Neill Racing, LLC, arrived at NCTA shortly after the Nebraska State Fair and remained on campus until October 5 before traveling to Fonner Park in Grand Island for the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders Association Auction on October 7. The horses included Wins Sweet Twist, a filly known around the barn as “Twist,” and Mythic Move, a gelding students knew as “Sandwich.”
The project involved students across multiple equine courses. Equine Marketing Techniques students handled the yearlings and gained experience in sale preparation, photography, and auction procedures. Equine Practicum students provided daily care and managed feeding and nutrition. Using published literature, they helped develop rations tailored to the yearlings’ needs during their time at NCTA, with a target weight gain of one-half pound per day.
Together, the classes gave students an opportunity to contribute to an actual horse sale while understanding how care, nutrition, handling, and marketing work together.
Joanna Hegenreder, Equine Associate Professor at NCTA, brought experience connecting equine education with horse sales to the project. Before coming to Curtis, she served as the Undergraduate Equine Sciences coordinator of Colorado State University’s Legends of Ranching sale, working with students and industry professionals to prepare and market approximately 50 horses. Students fitted the horses for sale, then planned and managed the event. That experience helped shape her approach to connecting classroom instruction with the responsibilities of an actual sale.
The yearling project also came with greater accountability. The horses had been entrusted to NCTA by an outside owner, meaning the students’ work had an impact beyond a course grade.
“There is a different level of responsibility when the work matters to someone outside of the classroom,” Hegenreder said. “The owner has trusted us with two horses, and the students’ work contributes to how those horses arrive at the sale. How we communicate throughout the process contributes to the relationship we are developing with that client as well. That makes the experience more authentic than an assignment we could create only for a grade.”
That responsibility introduced students to another important part of the equine industry: working with clients. Along with developing technical skills, students learned how communication, expectations, relationships, and problem-solving factor into completing a project.
NCTA professor Clyde Cranwell also participated in the project, bringing extensive teaching experience and a family connection to Thoroughbred racing. From 1999 to 2006, he chaired NCTA’s Agriculture Production Systems division and coached the Aggie Livestock Judging Team. He also taught in equine and Thoroughbred racing programs at Morrisville State College in New York and animal science and livestock judging programs at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. His agricultural background includes family grain and livestock production, research in animal nutrition and biomechanics, and a multigenerational connection to Nebraska’s racing industry through his grandfather and father.
Drawing on that background, Cranwell described the yearling project as a valuable opportunity for NCTA students. He emphasized that the marketing experience and professional skills developed through the project could help students in many careers.
The learning continued when the yearlings left Curtis. Students accompanied the horses to the sale, experiencing the auction environment firsthand and learning alongside industry professionals. They also practiced public speaking and professional communication by engaging with prospective buyers and industry personnel.
Equine Practicum II student Montanna Dietz discussed the yearlings’ feeding program with potential buyers, explaining the rations she had helped develop in class and how they supported the horses’ preparation for the sale. The conversation gave her an opportunity to share the reasoning behind the students’ work and apply her knowledge in a professional setting.
The experience is another example of NCTA’s learn by doing approach, connecting classroom instruction with real responsibilities and industry expectations.
“The students learn something in class, have a chance to work through it with the yearlings, see how it functions in an actual industry setting, and then bring what they learned back with them,” Hegenreder said. “The project gives them enough ownership to experience not only what works, but also the questions, adjustments, relationships, and problem-solving that are part of doing this work outside of a classroom.”
Those lessons can carry forward to the next horse, client or project students encounter, building both technical knowledge and the professional skills needed to work successfully in the equine industry and beyond.
The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) in Curtis is a two-year institution within the University of Nebraska system, dedicated to developing the next generation of agricultural professionals and veterinary technicians. NCTA offers specialized programs in Animal Science, Agronomy, Ag Equipment, Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Education, Equine Industry Management, and Veterinary Technology, all grounded in a practical, career-focused approach to learning.