NSBA members had a busy day on Sunday at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. Small Fry exhibitors started early in the Trail pen as the first class of the day, with Equestrians With Disabilities Independent and Supported Trail classes soon after. They were followed by Small Fry Western Pleasure, Non-Pro English Longe Line and Working Hunter, Equitation Over Fences and the Working Hunter Open and Non-Pro Classic.
Small Fry, Big Wins
Tayler Elchynski and Sheza Shy Chex earned one of the first wins of the day in the Congress and NSBA Small Fry Trail. “We call my horse Shyanne,” Elchynski said. “I’ve been working with her for about a year.”
The ten year old has been showing horses for about two years. “I really liked the circles and the back-through parts of our pattern,” she said.
For Ty Terry, winning the NSBA portion of Small Fry Western Pleasure and reserve champion overall meant getting to celebrate in a special way. “We’re going to go eat sushi,” he said.
Terry showed Machine Image, by A Good Machine, to the win. “We’ve only been working together a couple of months,” he said. “We got up and practiced from midnight to two in the morning for our class!”
Machine Image, who is known as Betty, will continue to show at the Congress with Terry’s mother. The Terry family thanked Wayne Davis and Sissy Anderson for their help with Betty.
Final Equestrians With Disabilities Champions Named
Exhibitor Corbett Ryan, who has tirelessly worked to help facilitate EWD events at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, saw his hard work pay off with a win in the EWD and NSBA portions of Equestrians With Disabilities Trail – Supported. He showed Romantic Dress to the win.
“It’s been my goal for a long time to get people with disabilities to be able to show at the Congress,” he said. “I presented to the board of directors about five different times. I had people tell me it would never happen, but I wouldn’t give up.”
Ryan was assisted by Partners For Progress, which is based in Chicago, IL. “We had an awesome pattern. I couldn’t have done this without my team and my mom and dad,” he said. “We all worked very hard.”
In the Equestrians With Disabilities Trail – Independent, Forrest Terry showed Just Imagine It to the NSBA win and second overall in the class. Terry is a familiar face to many attendees of the NSBA World Championship Show, and had a new horse to compete with this year.
“It was fun,” he said. “We had a good pattern. When we do well, we like to give Fritz peppermints.”
Just Imagine It, known as Fritz, was donated to Horses Of Hope this year by Blair and Susan Roberts of Capital Quarter Horses LLC. “For being a new horse with EWD, Fritz and Forrest just get along so well,” said Mycah McColm, of Horses Of Hope. “He’s one of the best partners. Fritz just adapts to Forrest.”
Charlie Sims and Invite Me Home took the EWD and NSBA champion title in Equestrians With Disabilities Walk Trot Western Pleasure – Assisted. “They’ve only been working together for about a month, said Annamaria Sims, Charlie’s mother.
“Charlie has been working with EWD for seven or eight years, and the impact it’s made is unbelievable. Both he and his sister, Mary, show in the EWD classes. Mary had a big win two years ago at the NSBA World Show, but this is Charlie’s first big win.”
“Being able to show here at the Congress at the world’s largest horse show is just tremendous,” added Jeff Sims, Charlie’s mother.
Invite Me Home is a new horse for Charlie, having joined a month ago. “Bentley just started to be an EWD horse this year, but I think he was meant to do this,” said trainer Ryan Cottingim who supported Charlie in the class. “They just get along so well.”
Hunter Winners
In the Celeste Center, Working Hunter and Equitation Classes were in full swing. David Miller piloted The Fire Escape to win the Progressive Working Hunter for owner Lauren Rodber.
“He was really good on the course today,” Miller said of his horse. “We’ve got the Hunter Hack yet to go.”
Lainie DeBoer was a double champion on Sunday, piloting her mother Margaret Roth’s horse, What I Know Now, to wins in Green Working Hunter and Junior Working Hunter.
“He was fantastic,” DeBoer said of the gelding known as Mac. “We haven’t shown him very much. He’s basically a riot to be around. He’s busy, and obnoxious on the ground, but when you get on him, he’s a lamb. He’s the easiest horse in the ring, because he doesn’t take much warm up.”
Its My Lucky Detail and Madison Eichstadt closed out their Youth show career with a win in the NSBA and AQHA Youth Working Hunter 14-18. “Our go was pretty good,” Eichstadt said. “It was a little tight around the first fence, but we rode through it and tried not to let it affect the rest of our ride.”
Eichstadt has been with the 14 year old gelding she calls Lucky, who is by Last Detail and out of Run To Seattle, for seven years. “He’s so quirky, but I know his quirks because we’ve been together so long,” she said. “I know how he’ll be, and I understand how to tune him if I need to.” Lucky will probably get a lot of his favorite treat, Fruit Loops, for his Congress win.
Other champions in the Hunter pen included Nya Kearns and Beyond Captivating, AQHA and NSBA champions in Youth Working Hunter 13 & Under; Ryan Painter and Kammanyawannadance, winning both gos of the Hunter Classic Stakes for owner Peyton Bivens; and Chad Sandoval and Cool Man Jazz, winners of the Non-Pro Hunter Classic Stakes.
Hunters Lead the Day in Longe Line
Hunters on the lead took center stage in the Coliseum when the Non-Pro English Longe Line Stakes took place. A wise purchase a week ago brought Kerry Daudlin to an emotional trip to the winner’s circle with Stellas Gotr Groove, winning the Congress and NSBA portions of the class. Al Get Your Shine On and Bill Kelly won the Southern Belle Breeders portion of the class.
Daudlin showed some guts by starting her go off at the canter in both directions of her work. “I figured I didn’t have anything to lose so I went for it,” she said.
“I had a million instructions swimming in my head. It’s actually been 30 years since I have shown at the Congress – the last time I showed here was in youth 12-14.”
To view Congress show results or the complete show schedule, please visit www.quarterhorsecongress.com.
The Congress continues Monday with Equitation Over Fences, Jumping, Working Hunter, Hunter Hack, Halter Stallions, the Open Western Longe Line Staks and Open English Longe Line Stakes, as well as the first go of the Maturity Non-Pro Western Pleasure Stakes.
Photos © NSBA
