The Rock Candids and Final Report from Dixie National Quarter Horse Show

The Dixie National Quarter Horse Show was held February 16th through the 21st in Jackson, Mississippi. This Top 10 show in the nation featured southern hospitality at its best with nice sized classes, great prizes, new show management and amazing volunteers that helped run the show.

GoHorseShow had Jenna Seal reporting for us from the show so be sure to check out her final wrapup and reports from the show below.

CLICK HERE to check out the candids sponsored by The Rock Stallion and kindly submitted by Jenna Seal, NoBreak Photos and various other competitors.

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Hi! My name is Jenna Seal and I am reporting this week from the Dixie National Quarter Horse Show in Jackson, Mississippi. I am a Mississippi native, but am currently doing an internship with Kevin Dukes Performance Horses in Weatherford, Texas. I am also working on my degree in Equine Science from Middle Tennessee State University. I competed in the All-Around events and barrel racing as a youth, but my show career is currently on hold until I finish school. Read my daily reports below from the show!

Sunday, February 21st, 2016–Final Report

The final day of the Dixie.  The last hurrah.  Pack-up day.  Whatever you call it, the last day of any horse show is always the hardest.

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In our barn, we had all the horses ready to go by 9:30 am since the hunter hack classes went first.  Our first horse of the day, I Got Good Moves (aka “Big Lucky”) went in the Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle with Allison McGuffie of Jackson, MS.  The pair finished Dixie National Champions. Our featured exhibitor on Thursday, Mary Gracen Reed, was 3rd in the 14-18 Hunter Under Saddle with UF A Light Smoke.

Across the street at the Kirk Fordice arena was the barrel racing, pole bending, and stake race events.  The Sr. Barrels had a little over 50 entries. The show finished up with the stakes around 4 pm.

Congratulations to the Dixie National Quarter Horse Show High-Point Exhibitors.  Kamiah McGrath captured the Youth All-Around trophy saddle by Harris with her bay gelding, They Call Me Jake.  The Amateur All-Around saddle went to Tiina Volmer of Oak Point, Texas.

As my last blog entry, I have to say that this was probably the best-run Dixie National show I’ve ever attended. The weather was excellent, the show ran incredibly smooth, and the added security gave everyone a sense of safety.

“With the new changes to the Dixie National this year, we believe the show will do nothing but get better and better. Those changes include the addition of AQHA judge/show manager Casey Devitt and show secretary Vanessa Lay,” says Rob Seal, the chairman of the Dixie National Show Committee. (He is also my dad!)

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The Dixie National Quarter Horse Show would like to thank all their sponsors for another successful year.  This year they welcomed Elite Custom Saddlery and Outback as sponsors.  Elite Custom Saddlery supplied two gorgeous rope cans and leather binders for the roping awards.  Over $100,000 in cash and awards was paid out over the course of the week.

We hope everyone had a great show and look forward to seeing you back at the Dixie Nationals next year!

Saturday, February 20th, 2016 

Saturday came early as we had one horse in the first class of the day, All-Age Pleasure Driving.  After Friday night’s festivities, we sleepily harnessed Good Lukin Lark “Goodie” and took him and the cart over to the Coliseum for the 7 am warmup.  After over a year not showing, Goodie, driven by Kevin Dukes, received two firsts and two seconds, finishing Reserve Dixie National Champion behind Hot Like U. “Crosby” is owned by Kathy Haynes and was driven by Cathy Herrin.  Congratulations to all!

In the Kirk Fordice arena, the day was ruled by the youth. The morning started with halter and showmanship, followed by lead line, western riding, western pleasure and horsemanship. I managed to sneak over to watch a bit of the showmanship, where I saw some excellent runs.  My very good friend McAuley Ross and her horse, A Timely Version, were Dixie National Champions in the Novice Youth Showmanship, after putting in hours of practice to get better at the event.

One exhibitor, who has been showing quite a while, brought a new horse to the Dixie Nationals this year.  Brooke Durden and Invited Too Trouble (pictured right, Photo @ Rachel Pendley), aka “Jackie”, showed in the western all-around youth events this weekend.  They were Dixie National Champions in the Youth Performance Halter Mares, 8th in the Youth Showmanship, 3rd in the 14-18 Western Pleasure and 6th in the Novice Youth Western Pleasure.  This was the first big show that the pair showed in the Youth Horsemanship, where they ended up 8th overall.

This was a special Dixie Nationals for Brooke because it is her last as a youth, and “Jackie” started it off great.  “I am very blessed to have her,” Brooke says.  Brooke is leasing Jackie from Whitley Horning, who showed the mare for several years prior.

We wish Brooke and Jackie all the best luck in their final year in youth competition!

Friday, February 19th, 2016

Friday morning dawned bright and early as the beautiful Dixie Nationals continued. The Amateur Showmanship and Horsemanship, as well as the Green and Senior Western Pleasure, ran in the Coliseum, while all the trail showed in the Kirk Fordice Equine Center. The trail boasted a total of 113 entries.

The premier event of the Dixie National Show has always been the Freestyle Reining, held on Friday night.  We welcomed the sponsors of the show, had the national anthem sung and said a prayer before the event started.

As a long-time attendee of the Freestyle Reining, I must say that this year was probably the best I’ve seen in quite a while!  With 16 total entries, the reiners wowed the crowd with long sliding stops, fast spins, and exciting music.  The quality of the horses was excellent and drew a large crowd.

Among the contestants was Miss Rodeo Mississippi 2015, Laura Sumrall, who performed her heart-stopping “Frozen” routine on Wimpys Top Model. Also present was the ever-eternal Doubleknotyourreeboks and Heather Johnson, who walked away with the Open Freestyle Reining Championship. (pictured left, Photo © Heather Johnson)

Our featured contestant tonight is Sarah Lynn Locker from Brashear, Texas, who rode two horses to a win in the Non-Pro and a Reserve in the Open. Heavy Duty Chex (pictured above left in homepage photo with Sarah), a 2011 chestnut stallion, claimed the Reserve title in the Open division to the song, “Time of My Life”. The pair were striking, with Sarah wearing a flowing white dress that shone against the stallion’s dark coat.

Her Non-Pro win came with her other ride, Snip O Satellite, a 2010 bay mare.  They rode to the song “We Shall Be Free”.  Both horses are owned by Hilldale Farm, and both are by Nu Chex To Cash.

Sarah (pictured right) has been showing in the Freestyle Reining at the Dixie since she was 13 years old.  Last year, Heavy Duty Chex won the Non-Pro Freestyle, but this year was Snip O Satellite’s first year showing it.  We wish Sarah all the best of luck in her future endeavors with these great horses!

The Freestyle competition welcomed nearly 2,000 spectators this year, and paid out over $10,500 across both the open and non-pro divisions.  After the reining was over, the Moonlight Madness kicked off in the Expo Center. The building was packed wall to wall to take advantage of the excellent deals offered by the vendors.

Thursday, February 18th, 2016

“If Heaven ain’t a lot like Dixie, I don’t wanna go.”  These are the words that played through my head this morning as we started what has been the most gorgeous day of the Dixie so far.  We had all the horses fed, saddled, and longed by 9 am, and spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon riding. The outdoor was wonderful, the sun felt amazing, and by noon we had all shed into just t-shirts.

This morning, I ventured over to the Coliseum where the first halter classes were running, to see what time the show would be over today so we could ride there. I got two different estimates that the show would be done for the day around 4:30 this afternoon. However, the show management was doing an excellent job running the show smoothly, and they finished the last western riding class at 2:30pm.

In the Kirk Fordice Equine Center, the reiners showed all morning and some of the afternoon, followed by nearly 90 total Ranch Riding entries. Ranch Riding is my favorite event, so of course today’s featured exhibitor is a youth fairly new to the event.

Today, Mary Gracen Reed of Batesville, Mississippi (pictured in main photo), showed her two horses Mr Lonley 2006 and Comos Pepto Baby. This morning, Mary Gracen competed in Youth Rookie Reining, where she walked away Dixie National Champion on Mr Lonley 2006, aka “Shorty”.

Later in the afternoon, she went back in the Level 1 Youth Ranch Riding, where she was Reserve Dixie National Champion, as well as a composite third in the Youth Ranch Riding, also on Shorty.

This was her second time showing the ranch riding on Shorty. This Dixie Nationals is a bit different for Mary Gracen because she added the new events of reining and ranch riding.  She will also show in the hunter under saddle on Sunday with her bay gelding, UF A Light Smoke (pictured right), under the guidance of Kevin Dukes.

In the fall, Mary Gracen will be heading to Fort Worth, Texas, to attend college at Texas Christian University, where she will be competing on their equestrian team.  Congratulations and good luck Mary Gracen!

Tomorrow is predicted to be even more beautiful than today, so enjoy the sunshine!

Stay tuned for the next report, where I will be covering the trail in the morning and the Freestyle Reining at 7 pm tomorrow night.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2016 

Welcome to the Dixie National Quarter Horse Show!  It was a brisk February morning on Wednesday, February 17th. The ground and arenas were still wet from the heavy rain and storms on Monday, but that didn’t stop exhibitors from venturing out. Horses began filling up the muddy warm up arena near High Street around 8 am, trying to find a place to longe out of the deep sand.

By mid-afternoon the sun had dried the arena out well enough to ride. The working cow horse, boxing, and cutting were this morning, and the afternoon finished up with tie-down and team roping. The Cash Challenge roping event was held after all the AQHA classes had run, where the fast times of all classes were taken back to compete for money.

Since the cattle classes were finishing up today, I caught up with Gaston Strickland, a 12 year old all-around cowboy from Newton, Mississippi (pictured right). This year was Gaston’s first Dixie National as well as his very first AQHA show!  He competed in the Youth Breakaway and the Youth Heading and Heeling with Waggoners Quatro Zan, a 1998 sorrel gelding owned by Gaston’s grandmother, Lynn Strickland. He earned a 3rd and 7th in the Youth Breakaway with “Tuff”.

His next rodeo is this weekend in Brandon, Mississippi, and he is planning on attending the AQHA show in Meridian, Mississippi, in March. Great job, Gaston! In addition to roping, Gaston also competes in the Mississippi Little Britches Rodeo Association and NBHA. At rodeos, he competes in Flags, Goat Tying, Breakaway, and Team Roping.  Last year, he earned two slots through NBHA MS07 to run at the NBHA Youth World.  He also rides in Mississippi 4H, where he was High-Point Pony Speed and High-Point Pony Judged at the 4H State Show.

I hope everyone had a great day here at the Dixie Nationals, and I look forward to seeing more neck ribbons throughout the rest of the week!