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| Judy Page clasping her one of her testing tools at the 2006 World Show. |
When you want something badly enough you discover a way to attain it. Judy Page of Franktown, Colorado, always wanted to see the World Show so she offered to work. Twenty years later, she is a fixture in the drug testing barn.
“People probably think, ‘Why would you want to come and collect pee?’ but it was a long way away and cost a lot of money (to get to the World Show), so I just kind of decided that the only way to get there was if I worked.” Judy said.
Judy is part of the veterinary team drug testing the horses. She has been a veterinary technician for 26 years and works at Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado. It is a small animal hospital facility, and she has no special qualifications for testing. So how did she end up here?
“When they first started tail testing 21 or 22 years ago, Dr. Colter (a doctor she works for) was invited to be the neurologist to come to do it, and I just happened to overhear the conversation,” Judy said. “So, I asked if I could come. I came that first year and made sure I was too handy to let go. Then I’ve been invited back here ever since then.”
As a youth, Judy showed horses. She currently lives on an Arabian farm training and raising endurance horses and cutters. She has never been around Quarter Horses, but it’s a change of pace she really enjoys.
“I just wanted to be part of doing something with the horses and be at the World Show,” Judy said. “I like visiting and doing something totally different from what I do at home. I like to get away. I suppose collecting pee probably isn’t the most glamorous way to come to the World Show but it gets me here so I can see the horses, learn new things and shop.”
Not much has changed in twenty years.
“Everything is still exactly the same as it was twenty years ago,” Judy said. “I just really enjoy the two weeks. I get to visit my friends that I don’t see but once a year from South Dakota and visit everybody else. Everybody in the office has been the same. It’s amazing that everyone just comes. I think it’s interesting because a lot of places you go it’s different, here it’s not.”
The continuity of the show effects Judy’s annual sojourn to Oklahoma City.
“You know everybody is going to be here,” Judy said. “You are comfortable with the routine. I can just walk into the office and get my paperwork because I know everybody there. Then I can sit and visit with them for a minute. It is nice.”
The drug testing team consists of Judy, Pam Carmichael, Taylor Carmichael and Andrea Huffman.
Judy hopes to return to the World Show for another twenty years. Her job makes her feel like an integral part of the show and she attempts to fulfill her tasks to the best of her ability.
“I will keep coming as long as I can and as long as they keep asking me to come back,” Judy said. “I really try not to create a ruckus or have anyone complain. I really feel like part of the show.”
