Tipperary Contest Results

It seems crazy, but voting for the Tipperary Contest went viral yesterday with wild but, from chatting with the polling software folks, legitimate voting.  The contest became incredibly popular, with Hannah Waroway the runaway winner (51%).  However, Laura Cox also received a huge number of votes to finish second (29%). 

Hannah                                                             Laura

Because of the enormous response for both Hannah and Laura, our awesome friends at Tipperary are awarding two T-Series helmets as first and second place prizes!  Congratulations Hannah and Laura!  Enjoy your new headgear, and we hope it didn’t take too long to brush out your hair.  We are also giving away an EN hat to our two winners, and as a consolation prize to Mikaela, who finished third (8%).

Sometimes EN manages to humble us with its incredible reach.  Here is the email Laura sent to us last night:

Dear Eventing Nation,

I just wanted to tell you that your competition has done something wonderful for me. While the competition is still technically running, I feel I’ve already won something. Let me briefly explain…. ok, that may be a slight lie, but please indulge me.

When I saw I was on the list of finalists for the competition, I immediately shared the link with my Facebook friends (and family). I also sent a text to my mom, brother, sister, and aunt to inform them to check their Facebook pages ASAP and please share the link with anyone they could who might vote for me. Honestly, I didn’t think I stood a chance. Granted, I have 400+ people on my page alone, but I figured that most probably would just skim the link, thinking it would take too long to cast a vote. Boy, was I WRONG!!!

As a nursing student at Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN, we have a FB page for discussions relating to school. I figured with all of the tests we have been attacked with, my classmates might enjoy a good laugh, and possibly vote for me. Based on the feedback, I think I’m going to be recognized by everyone…. well, if they looked at anything other than that hair! Anyways, my friends from school were so anxious to help out, I think one went as far as contacting the women at her church to spread the word.

My mom and my dad cast their votes and proceeded to spread the word via e-mail and FB. My sister, married to an Air Force Pilot, has lived in so many different places (currently in AZ) and met so many wonderful people, that she immediately shared the word with her friends. My brother, a sheriff’s deputy, contacted everyone he knows, which is pretty much everyone in the county. My aunt, who happens to be a reporter/food critic in Portland, ME, and she has 1100+ followers on Twitter (can’t tell you much about that, because the only thing that tweets in my book is a bird) also took to e-mail, word of mouth, and social media to try and win me some votes. Since this competition started, I think they may have hunted down and threatened asked nicely if they would vote.

But the vote that may have meant the most, and if you see my obituary in the morning paper, that voter caught me writing this, but my grandmother voted. My grandmother refuses to touch a computer. She says they are a waste of time, and if she wants to get any information, she will call whoever can get her that information. She doesn’t like pictures on the computer, she wants to be able to flip through them in her hands. If she needs to look up a phone number, that’s what a phone book is for. You get the picture? The fact she actually voted for me (granted she almost voted for the wrong person because the mouse slipped), she did it. She clicked the mouse on her own in front of me, for me. She went against everything she believes about computers because she believes in me even more.

The point is, win or lose come tomorrow morning, the fact that so many people in my family and circle of friends were so ready to help a girl win a helmet, I feel completely and utterly humbled and undeserving of such kindness. In my book, I have already won the greatest prize of all. Thank you for that great opportunity, and please tell Tipperary thanks for sponsoring such a fun contest!

Go Eventing!
Laura Cox

 

Thanks to all who participated, all who voted, and to Tipperary for sponsoring the contest.  We hope to have more exciting giveaways in the future!