From Trail to Horsemanship to Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure, Friday’s exhibitors competed in a little bit of everything on a typical Congress day – cool and cloudy. Some of the day’s champions shared some comments with The Way To Go.
Green Wins Novice Youth Trail 14-18
Deanna Green showed Blazinmytroublesaway to win the Congress NSBA and AQHA titles in Novice Youth 14-18 Trail, earning a score of 233.
“We were tenth in the draw, so we had a pretty long wait to see how the placings came out,” Green said. “We started working on Trail last year, and we’ve made a lot of progress. I don’t really have a favorite class because I like them all, but Trail has all the pieces of every class in one structure.
“I really liked the right lead lop overs after the walk. It was a good pattern because it had a lot of flow to it. The hardest part for me was the slow parts like the gate and the backup. You had to be slow and correct, and those elements were at the beginning of the pattern.”
Hunter Under Saddle Open, Non-Pro Maturity Champions Named
Deanna Searles and She Says Aloha took the Congress championship in the Open Maturity Hunter Under Saddle Stakes, showing for her husband, Jim.
“We had a great group of horses in the finals, and they all looked great,” Searles noted. “I think the judges had a hard time deciding the winner. We really had a lovely go, and it was really fun to show her. Everything flowed, and her movements today were so floaty and soft. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
In the Non-Pro Maturity Hunter Under Saddle Stakes, Dawn Sechler and Justin Beamer received the nod and the championship. The six year old gelding is by Pass The Asset and out of Walkin The Sky.
“I made a brave choice to trot in first, and for I while I wasn’t sure if it was the right move,” Sechler said. “He listened to me really well and did everything I asked. That last trot felt like a million bucks!”
Sechler and trainer Natalie Hendrickson started the gelding, and began campaigning him this year. In August, Justin Beamer was a two time NSBA world champion.
“We started him late, and took our time with him. I was attracted to him because I think he is a true hunter,” Sechler said. “He has a level top line and a big, open stride at the trot and canter, yet he is slow-legged too.
“In addition to Natalie Hendrickson, I have to give credit to my mom, because she is the best show mom ever!”
Blackburn-Baskin Wins Novice Amateur Horsemanship
It was a bit of a marathon, but Juliana Blackburn-Baskin outlasted and outworked the competition to win the NSBA and AQHA divisions of Novice Amateur Horsemanship with her horse, Floating On Assets. The class had 118 entries and ran in two splits of 59 horses each, followed by a rework of the pattern by the 20 finalists and rail work before the champion was crowned.
“We’ve been together for four years,” Blackburn-Baskin said of her 16 year old show partner. “We were reserve champions in this class last year, so I made it my goal to win it this year.
“Jeff Mellott and Bear Lange really worked with me this morning to help me get ready, and we had a really good go. We went in the first split, and so we had to wait to see who all made it back and rework the pattern again in the finals and do the rail work. I had people telling me we wouldn’t have to rework the pattern in the finals, but I was expecting it and was prepared for it.
“We had a really good go in the finals. The extended jog and the stop was good as well as the one and a half turn. Even the lead change and the stop and back were all really good.”
Floating On Assets is by Investment Asset. Blackburn-Baskin and her mare will compete again in Amateur Horsemanship and Amateur Showmanship later in the show.
Limited Open Maturity, 11 & Under Western Pleasure Titles Earned
Tate Oakley added one more reason to celebrate 2015 when he won the Limited Division of the Open Western Pleasure Maturity, showing his wife’s horse, Flashy Looking Touch. One of the first things he did after the win was grab his three month old daughter, Ava, for a special celebration.
“This right here is my whole world,” he said of his daughter.
Oakley racked up two firsts and a third place under the Congress judges on his way to the win. “He showed really good for me out there,” Oakley said of the gelding called Watson.
“In this small of a pen, it takes a horse that can go slow but also that you can move around where you need to, and he did that for me. I couldn’t have done this without a whole bunch of people, starting with my dad, Dave Archer, my wife Jamie and Courtney Chown, who really trained this horse.”
Flashy Looking Touch is by the AQHA stallion A Touch Of Sudden.
Twelve year old Kylee Wiseman earned her very first Congress NSBA and AQHA championships in the 11 & Under Western Pleasure, showing Touched Softly. Touched Softly is owned by her grandmother, Debbie Martin.
“We bought her last year at the Congress,” Wiseman said. “I rode her for the very first time in the back pen here in the Celeste, and as soon as I saw her I knew she was the one. She had a beautiful lope, and a strong hip, and was soft on her feet.
“Going into the finals I was nervous, but I was so excited to make the finals. I just wanted to concentrate and do well. Ty and Karen told me to have fun and show my horse, so I did.”
Karen Hornick noted that Wiseman has worked hard toward her goals. “She rides with us a lot, and comes over for lessons. I’ve made her work at it,” Hornick said.
Wiseman was especially looking forward to having her grandmother fulfill a promise if she won the class. “She promised me that I could get a Whippet puppy if I won,” she said.
Other Congress champions named on Friday included Alexia Tordoff and Blazing Hot N Gold, winning NSBA and AQHA Youth Hunter Under Saddle 11 and Under; Moa Berglund and Aint Gota Lot, named Congress champions in NSBA and AQHA Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle 14-18; and Jess Bergantzel and My Only Impulse, showing for Carli Quandahl, winning the NSBA and AQHA portions of Junior Trail with a 230 score.
Friday began the start of “Youth weekend” at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, with Youth Showmanship, Western Pleasure and Hunt Seat Equitation classes slated for Saturday as well as finals of the Open and Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity and the Limited division finals of the Open Two Year Old Western Pleasure Stakes.
To view complete show results, the show schedule or a link to the live online video feed of the show, visit www.quarterhorsecongress.com.
