Click here to see professional candids by Art and Light Photography and sponsored by Rodrock Ranches. Also congrats to Team Italy on winning!
Click here to
see a slideshow of pictures from Peyton Bivins.
we snagged silver medals in Showmanship and Equitation and had some
awesome rides! Also a big congratulations to Team Italy who finished
first as well as all of the other teams here at the Youth World Cup. It
was a great week in Germany and we all can’t wait to get home for Youth
World!
July 28, 2012–Well one part of Germany that was fun was getting to catch up with two of my friends
that I’ve known for a very long time and my fellow Team USA Alumni Joe and Zane
Pluhar! All week we cheered on Team USA and had fun talking about memories and such!
It was a great week and we want to say that this team worked very hard and the
riders: Paige, Avery, Brittany, Logan and Emily did an amazing job with their
horses. Also, the leadership team worked so hard and they were always there for the
riders, Jenny, Mark, Charley, Britt, and Sarah Ann were so supportive and we’re the
foundation of this great team! We still have the Hunter Under Saddle and Hunt Seat
Equitation, wish them luck!
July 27, 2012–Hello! Well we have just finished the reining. There were two judges so one go
round. The clinic took place this morning and the competition started around 1:30.
Two representatives from each country had the opportunity to show and each horse was
shown twice by two different competitors. We would like to congratulate Logan
Pluhar, 4th under both judges and Emily Winegar receiving the bronze under both
judges! Great day for the USA! We would also like to mentions that one of the German
riders was injured and we wish them the best! Their alternate who went last minute
placed 7th and we feel that what was absolutely wonderful!
Both Judges had the same top three:
Bronze: USA
Silver: New Zealand
Gold: Italy
Great job to all countries!
Click here to read an article from AQHA about the first day of competition.
Western Pleasure: Congratulations to US team member Brittany Donald with the Bronze! I asked Brittany her thoughts on the class and she responded, “I felt really good about the class and was so unsure when it came down to the third place! There were more finalists than placings and so I wasn’t sure if the judge liked me or not!” This is so exciting! We would also like to congratulate Team Italy with the Silver and Team Germany with the Gold!
Anxiously awaiting horsemanship results! Brittany Donald made it to the final rail work! All of the girls are doing great and everyone is working very hard! The spectators are very anxious as well and the Teams are showing each other lots of support!
For the USA, Brittany Donald was 4th in the Trail and Avery Ellis was 4th in the Western Riding! We are so excited! And we send out a huge congratulations to all of the teams! This is a fantastic group of riders!
Western Riding
Gold Medal: Austria
Silver: Belgium
Bronze: NZ
Trail
Gold Medal: Denmark
Silver Metal: Italy
Bronze Medal: Israel
We are about to start the English events this afternoon! Brittany Donald, Paige
Stopperich and Avery Ellis will ride this evening. Take special notice of their
shirts. These shirts were donated by Winning Couture. They are absolutely gorgeous and something I’m sure these girls will treasure for a long time! The girls said they absolutely love them! Stay tuned for updates on the events tonight!
Well the Hunter Under Saddle has finished up and Paige Stopperich finished 7th! She did a wonderful job as did all of the riders from Team USA! I would like to give a huge congratulations to Team Israel who received the Gold AND the Silver! Also to Team Canada receiving the Bronze.
Current Standings Overall (As of Hunter Under Saddle):
5th: New Zealand
4th: Canada
3rd: Germany
2nd: Israel
1st: Italy
Well the day is over! Brittany Donald placed 10th in Hunt Seat Equitation. She,
Paige and Avery all had beautiful rides. Congratulations to Team Germany with the Bronze, Team Italy with the Silver and Team Canada with the Gold! It was a great day! Stay tuned for updates on the Reining which takes place tomorrow!
Laura Alvarez
Today I had the chance to sit down with 18 year old Laura Alvarez of Team Dominican Republic. This is one impressive young lady! I had an absolutely wonderful conversation with her! I actually encountered Laura in Oklahoma City two years ago at the 2010 YWC and enjoyed catching up. Check out our chat below!
PB: Hi Laura! Do you mind answering some question for GoHorseshow.com?
LA: That would be great!
PB: How old are you?
LA: 18
PB: What are you wanting to study when you start college?
LA: I want to be a doctor!
PB: Wow! That is fantastic! Well, what have you enjoyed most about this week in Germany?
LA: The trips we have taken around Germany.
PB: What do you like to do at home?
LA: I like to ride reining, play volleyball, and cook. (Laura has even cooked for her teammates this week in Germany!)
PB: Will you be showing in the Equitation this afternoon?
LA: No English for me, I’m more of a cowgirl
PB: Love that answer! Well thank you so much Laura! We wish the Dominican Republic the best of luck this week!
LA: Thank you!
I learned so much about this young lady today and I am just so impressed! Team Dominican Republic made quite a trek to the YWC. They had a 12 hour flight from Santo Domingo to Madrid. Next they made a 3 hour and 45 minute trip to Munich. Laura is well equipped for her journey! She is fluent in three languages including: French, English and Spanish. Laura has met a lot of new people here in Germany and has really enjoyed her time spent with the members of Team USA.
July 25, 2012–Hello again! Well it’s the day before performance classes start. This morning the teams were busy preparing for tomorrow by bathing and grooming the horses. I caught up with a few members of Team USA and they seemed very anxious to get started and were busy organizing which horses were to he banded and which were going to be braided.
This afternoon we went for a boat ride on the Danube. It was absolutely beautiful and the teams seemed to have a really nice time. Our very own Sarah Ann Pendergraft and Logan Pluhar beautifully sang, “My Heart Will Go On”, while reenacting the famous scene from the film Titanic. They felt as though there were both, in this case, queen of the world. After the boat ride, we had a nice dinner in the beer garden. Probably the best part of the dinner was when I startled Sarah Ann with the head of Mr. Pendergrafts trout where it ended up being knocked out of my hand towards Avery…not too pleasant. Overall, it was a very fun afternoon. With competition starting tomorrow, we are all very anxious. Stay tuned!
July 24, 2012–Hello once again! The youth world cup has been jam packed with many fun events and today, all team members and their families were able to take the bus to Regensburg! There were roughly 200 of us and we had the most wonderful time! We took a guided tour around the older parts and had a wonderful dinner afterwards! I really enjoyed seeing the sights as well as sneaking in to a few shops along the way! I took the time after the tour to ask the members of Team USA what their favorite thing was about today’s adventure! See what they had to say!
Paige Stopperich: I thought that the tomb that we were able to see at the bottom of the church was very interesting!
Avery Ellis: I enjoyed the structure of the cathedral and looking at it from the outside!
Emily Winegar: The history of the town was very interesting as well as the structures we got to see.
Britt Lynch: I like going in to the church, it was very pretty!
Charley Thiel: I enjoyed seeing the town and spending time with my Aussie friends in our tour and bus group!
Mark Mowbray: I loved seeing the cathedral and sights of the town.
Brittany Donald: I just thought that the town itself was very interesting and had a great history about it.
Jenny Bivins: I enjoyed seeing the famous bridge over the Danube and hearing all of the stories about it!
Click here to see a slideshow of pictures and stay tuned for updates on the Youth World Cup as well as some fun interviews with competitors!
July 22, 2012–Click here to check out an article from AQHA about the Cutting competition that took place last night!
July 21, 2012–The Youth World Cup has officially begun. Tonight there was a wonderful parade of countries, each country entered the arena in alphabetical order and there were a total of 15 countries introduced. The kids seem very eager to begin! The exhibitors, as well as the audience enjoyed a show put on by the Bavarian Dancers followed by an act by a sort of trick horse that performed some silly acts with its handler. This afternoon the teams drew their horse group and had the chance to hand walk them, allowing a little bit of exercise before the work begins tomorrow. Tomorrow, the cutting will take place, after the clinic offered to the competitors. The riders will get the chance to get to know their horses, practice and then show. Emily Winegar will be representing the United States.
After the parade, a BBQ was held nearby. After the fabulous feast of food from what seemed to have a variety of origins, the teams took the time to get to know one another through greeting each other with gifts special to the individual countries. For example, Australia gave small koalas with boomerangs while the US exchanges a variety of pins, Texas quarters, flag bracelets. It was a fun filled evening with the chance to mix items that represent the different cultures of our world!
