Ohio native, Samantha Armbruster has written for GoHorseShow for over a year and our readers have enjoyed her many stories, particularly those that address positive thinking and improving confidence. After competing at the Congress for a decade without ever placing, Samantha finally got her name called today as the winner of the Novice Amateur Showmanship. She is a true inspiration to all and we are absolutely thrilled for her success!
The Quarter Horse Congress is easily comparable to the Super Bowl of horse shows. It is the best of the best with hundreds of entries per class and exhibitors who come not just from all over the country, but from all over the world. Anyone who has ever attended the Congress, whether it be as an exhibitor or a spectator, dreams of some day winning the coveted Congress bronze.
This morning, after ten years of coming up empty, my dreams finally came true. My horse, Oops I Am Good, also known as “Hudson” and I claimed the 2016 Congress Champion title in the Novice Amateur Showmanship. This win was actually my first time ever placing at the Congress and my first bronze trophy. It is so unreal!
My family purchased Hudson in June of 2015 where I began showing him in the Novice Amateur all around events. While my goal this year was to win the year-end Ohio Novice Amateur All Around award, I had no idea that I would also achieve a Congress bronze in the meantime.
Having noviced out of most of my classes this year, I knew that I had to give this Congress everything I had. Though showmanship is not my favorite class, Hudson is very good at it. He just has that big, pretty look to him which really helps.
We were in split one, draw seven this morning and showed just after 8 am. I was relieved to be done early so I could have some down time before riding later in the day. After what I thought was a pretty solid pattern, I waited until I heard that I made the callback out of my split. Hudson and I were draw 14 to go out of the top 20, and I was very happy with my finals pattern.
Of course, looking back, there are always things that you wish you could improve on as an exhibitor, but I knew at this point that there was no turning back now. Luckily, two of my fellow competitors that I have shown with all year, Lisa Flaschberger and Katerina Mendel, made it to the finals with me, and it was a very rewarding experience to stand next to both of them in the lineup.
Once the finalists were called, I couldn’t believe that I made the top 15, let alone the top 10 in a class of almost 100 exhibitors. As the announcer kept reading the placing and there were fewer and fewer people in the arena, I was in shock that Hudson and I were still standing.
Finally, Katerina and I were the last two in the arena. The entire time results were being read, we both smiled and couldn’t believe that we were the final two. “No matter what happens, I will be so happy for you, as soon as they announce it, you have to hug me,” I told her.
Once I knew that I won the class, I could not stop petting Hudson and thanking him. I was so happy to do so well in a class like the showmanship with so many other great competitors. It is truly an honor and I could not have gotten this far without my parents and trainers, Judd and Jennifer Paul.
