Kyriana Beard of the Stillwater FFA Chapter Wins 2025 State Star in Ag Placement

Listen to KC Sheperd talking with Kyriana Beard ahead of the State FFA Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kyriana Beard of the Stillwater FFA Chapter earned the title of State Star in Ag Placement during the fifth session of the 99th State FFA Convention and Expo May 7 at the BOK Center.

“I have had a wide variety of livestock and equine placements, and they’ve all been highly interconnected,” Beard explained. “I’ve gone from one to the next because of the previous one.”

Beginning in eighth grade, Beard took an unpaid volunteer position to learn about swine management at Dowdy Livestock, owned by Paige Dowdy, which raises Iberico hogs, a niche breed from Portugal. Dowdy also owned Scissortail Steading, a commercial Iberico breeding operation. At the time, she was also working at Noble Road Equestrian Center for her performance horse trainer, Nancy Burba. This led to her Total Equine Services Placement, owned by Holly Huffaker, during which she began riding five to eight horses per day. Her final ag placement is at Rocking E Boarding and Veterinary Services, where her boarding and equine husbandry tasks have continued.

“We have two barns with thirty total horses,” she explained. “I work for two equine veterinarians and complete equine rehabilitation tasks for them. These tasks are on rehab horses that have sustained an injury or have undergone some type of surgery. My job is to take them to the horse walker, and we use Equibands, and we perform several different physiotherapy exercises with these horses, hoping to globally strengthen their bodies and put them back to whatever performance industry they were previously in.”

She witnessed the opportunities and skills gained by her cousin and uncle through FFA, and since eighth grade has poured herself into the organization. “I have always had a passion for equine, not as much swine, but I did get the opportunity to get into it in the eighth grade, and I really found it super interesting because I’m now hoping to be a mixed animal veterinarian,” she shared. “I want to serve a rural area with different types of farmers, and I also want to have equine specialties as well. Being able to see that side of the industry was very unique, but my passion for all of this has truly been centered around my love for animals.”

Through her work with horses, Beard has already earned two National FFA Agriscience titles with projects centering on equine fitness and how horses recover from exercise.

Beard has been accepted to Oklahoma State University to pursue an Animal Science Pre-Veterinarian degree, after which she will apply to vet school. “Going into vet school, I hope to continue research, specifically equine as that is where my direct passion lies,” she shared.

She thanked her single mother, Kimberly Beard, for instilling a strong work ethic in her and driving her from location to location to work.

The State Stars were selected from the Area Stars across the state. This year’s 19 Area Stars each received a plaque and $500 cash award co-sponsored by the Masonic Charity Foundation, McDonald’s of Oklahoma, The Chickasaw Nation, Blue and Gold Sausage Co., Davis Farms, Sirloin Club of Oklahoma, Noble Research Institute, and Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

As the State Star in Ag Placement, Beard and the other State Stars will each receive $29,737 in scholarships or capital grant funds through a $3.2 million gift from the Carl C. Anderson Sr. and Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation. The late Carl C. Anderson, after whom the State Star awards are now named, was born in Naples, Oklahoma, in 1911. One of 10 children, he dropped out of high school to earn money and support his family. From those modest beginnings, the Anderson Corp. grew across the country as well as in Canada and South America.

FFA is an integral part of the agricultural education division in the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education system. With more than 29,500 members and 369 chapters, the Oklahoma FFA Association is the sixth-largest state FFA association. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. To learn more about the Oklahoma FFA, visit okffa.org.

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For more information about the 99th Oklahoma State FFA Convention, click here.

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