09/17/2026
Each year we nominate a member of the community to receive the True Grit Award. This person is someone who exhibits the qualities of “True Grit”.
Grit [grit] • noun
Firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.
The first person who came to mind this year for the 2026 True Grit Award was Matt Sheppard (Shep, Sheppy any of the many names we all knew him as). Matt was often found at the gate or in the arena at our local horse shows and behind the chutes at rodeos. He was the first person to jump in and help whenever and wherever needed and had the best attitude while doing it. He spent several Itasca County Fair Weeks over the years serving as night watch, watching over our animals all night and keeping them safe while we slept preparing to show the next day. During those nights of working night watch, many of our True Grit members kept him company and participated in fair “shenanigans” and Shep’s famous pranks! We are all grateful for those memories with him. We always had the best time.
When Matt lost his battle to cancer in June, we couldn’t give him a True Grit Award buckle like we usually do, but we knew we wanted to do something in honor of him. Thank you Twisted Metals for bringing this vision to life! This is such a special bench and we hope that everyone has a chance to sit and remember Shep for years to come!
Until we meet at the gate… rest easy Sheppy🪽
