Tali Terlizzi of Montville, New Jersey, had a series of firsts at the NSBA World Show. She won her first-ever NSBA World Show Championship with Heres To The Blue (Baby Stallion) in the NSBA Non-Pro and Limited Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line. Tali also won her first riding NSBA World Championship with Its Game On (Rocky) in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle. This team was also the unanimous winner in the BCF 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle. Pinball Machine (Jeffrey) and Terlizzi also won the BCF Limited 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure to round out her lineup. By the end of the show, Tali won an impressive five classes with three different horses.
“I truly love showing these horses, especially ones that love to show, and I am blessed to say my horses enjoy showing. I live a busy lifestyle at home, especially with my two children, and showing has made me realize it’s the one thing I get to do for myself. When I’m out there, I can focus on just riding,” Tali shares. “I’m very blessed for the entire team behind me that enables me to enjoy those moments. This year has been a dream come true, and I can’t thank everyone enough.”
Terlizzi also credits her fiancé John Harms for her success, because he is very supportive. “John is very proud of me; he knows how much this stuff means to me and how hard I work to accomplish my goals.”
Tali gave us a rundown of her wins at the show. ”It felt amazing to win my first World Championship with Baby Stallion. I think he has many more to come. My go was pretty close to perfect with him. I was so nervous he would pick up the wrong leads because he’s so big. We were struggling with it while practicing, but he managed to get focused and show like a champ, and he picked up his leads.”
Terlizzi adds, “There is not one thing I don’t love about Baby Stallion. He is one of the sweetest horses I’ve been around, a fantastic mover, and not to mention, drop-dead gorgeous. Also, working with Anthony (Leier) has been great. I had no intentions of showing the longe line myself, but I’m so happy Anthony pushed me to show it.”
According to Terlizzi, “Its Game On is always perfect…literally always. He’s a true show horse. I don’t warm him up much because he doesn’t love traffic, but he shows when we’re in the pen. My first ride in the BCF was amazing. He did everything I asked and showed. I was surprised to win on all four judges for that one. Then, I showed him in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro, and he was pretty good, but I was a little worried about one little bobble with another horse in the class. It was the icing on the cake to win that class. I cried like a baby since that was my first real riding win for a World Championship.”
“Working with Jason and Jamie (English) has been great,” Tali adds. This couple currently helps her with Rocky, and Jamie also shows him in the open classes. “I’m happy to have them on my team and as our friends.”
Tali told us that the main focus of her show was Pinball Machine. “He’s very special to me and such a talented horse. I worked really hard to present him in a way that was a little outside my comfort zone, but I’d say it paid off. That day, he was so locked in that I could move him on and off the rail, push him out, and go for it. I’m happy the judges rewarded us for that. There is no other horse more deserving than him to win a big class like that here.”
Terlizzi continues, “I purchased him last year in May. Kelby and Kaitlin (Hutchinson) have been amazing. I truly believe they are the next up-and-coming horse trainers of this industry. They make a great team and are so talented, but most of all, love and really care for their horses.”
We asked Tali to give us some insight into why she thought she was so successful at the show. “I think it’s because we’ve been on the road all season and really presenting these great horses to the judges all year. We will be going to Ocala and the Congress as well. And yes, showing all three at the Congress. It’ll be a long month, but my goal is to carry over this success from here and finish out the year strong.”
GoHorseShow congratulates Tali on her incredible success in Tulsa and wishes her the best of luck the rest of the show season.
CLICK HERE to view Tali’s ads in the August issue of GoMag.
