As some of you may know, my mom, Theresa, and I owned and showed It’s Been Awhile for the last two years. We had a lot of success with him, ultimately winning three Congress Championships, Congress Reserve All Around Open horse and a AQHA Reserve World Championship. I’m currently a senior at the University of Oklahoma and majoring in psychology. I plan on graduating in a year and attending law school. I am excited to be attending the AQHA World Show and reporting for GoHorseShow.com.
I interviewed Tim, the “Man of Trail” during the finals of the Junior and Senior Trail last night. Check out our interview below!
Tuesday November 19th 2013–This evening at the AQHA World Show the Junior and Senior Trail horses competed, everyone fighting for a spot at the top. I love watching the trail finals, the atmosphere is so dramatic. When a horse enters the pen, the whole coliseum goes silent! Everyone is holding their breathe, just waiting and listening. The second someone ticks a pole you can hear the crowd murmur, “oh.”
This intensity is created by the pattern itself, and the patterns here at the AQHA World Show never disappoint! So, I decided to go ask Tim Kimura, better know, as the “Man of Trail”, how he comes up with such challenging patterns.
Tim actually admitted that he was in a hurry to plan out the pattern for the senior class this year. So, he took pieces of the pattern from the Reichert and combined them with some new ideas that we saw last night.
Tim wants the patterns to be challenging for both the horse and rider. He says, “a good course has people struggle over different spots, at different locations and at different obstacles.”
He told me after last year’s World Show pattern, which was the toughest one he has ever designed, Tim wanted to make this year’s pattern more reasonable. He was happy with his course this year, believing that it challenged the top riders and made it easier for the judges to score the riders. Tim says, “Everyone hits one or two” and that makes him feel good.
Kimura believes the hardest part about tonight’s pattern was the series with 9-10 poles that were raised up. However, he says it’s all just a numbers game, with around 50 poles out–what are the odds that you will hit one? Tim told me he’s a teacher and the pattern is his test. “If you only hit three out of fifty poles you’re still getting an A on the test,” he says.
Congratulations to all the exhibitors who competed in the finals of the Junior and Senior Trail last night and thank you Tim for sitting down and talking with me.
Sunday, November 17th, 2013–Take a look at my next report with Wayne Halvorson, Courtney Brockmueller, and Margaux Tucker about how they get their horses to peak at this crucial time during the AQHA World Show.
This weekend was quieter at the world show. The roping classes took the arena and most of the performance horses were resting for this upcoming week of competition.
So that got me thinking–do people give their horses a rest here? If so, how much? Everyone tries all year to get their horses to peak at this crucial time here at the AQHA World Show, and, then, they must maintain that peak for two weeks, so how do they do it?
I first talked with Courtney Brockmueller, who just came off an impressive win in the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle.
“We do allow them downtime to rest their legs and their minds” says Courtney. She continued to tell me that she loves letting the horses play in the round pens, weather permitting, and jokes “with wraps and boots on every leg!” They also implement hand walking, which Courtney tells me is also a great way to slowly start building them back up for open week.
She gives me an example with her newly crowned World Champion, Allocate in Blue. “We gave him a full day off after his class Wednesday, he was just hand walked and groomed. Then, he had two days of just single rides. As we approach the Junior Hunter Under Saddle prelims on Tuesday, we will start getting him out twice a day.”
Courtney said after the World Show is over and the horses are back home; they will get two full weeks off with just turnout and grooming. She says, “horses and riders need a break”, and I couldn’t agree with her more!
Watch for Allocate in Blue in the Junior Hunter Under saddle prelims Tuesday!
Margaux Tucker also gave me some insight into what people do to keep their horses peaked between the amateur and open week of the world show. Margaux has been working for Brett Clark of Horace, North Dakota since May of 2013.
“Luckily our schedule and the scheduling of the horse show has allowed for significant down time for our horses between phases.”
Therefore, Tucker did not have to worry about making time for rest for her horses. Even though the schedule did work out more in her favor, she does feel for those all around competitors who had to show back to back. “I think it is hard for those horses and riders who are all around competitors to get rested during the amateur week of the show.”
Margaux believes the key to success here at the World Show is just keeping a tight schedule. “I think it is important to already have your medication planned, amount of longing planned, and maybe a plan ‘B’ for your routine as well.”
After talking with Courtney and Margaux, I wanted to get another perspective. So, I talked to Wayne Halvorson of Halvorson Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma. I was curious to see what he would say as he raises, trains, and shows halter horses. Wayne lives about 30 minutes from the fairgrounds and feels like this is beneficial for his horses. “We haul them down the morning they show, and, then, haul them home after they’re finished,” Wayne says.
This allows Wayne to keep their horses on as close to their normal program as possible. He also believes being able to haul them back and forth helps the horses because they’re able to stay in their own stalls at night, work in the same conditions, and are more comfortable being at home.
Being comfortable can be crucial for a halter horses success in the show pen. Wayne informed me that if a horse hauls down and isn’t comfortable, they could stop eating and drinking, even the haul itself could cause the horses to drop weight.
While there are some benefits in living so close to the World Show, Wayne also says it can be stressful. “I have to live the same kind of life with my family, plus be continually transporting to the show.”
Wayne also welcomes guests to his ranch during the show. He offers guests to keep their horses at his facilities. People also come to visit his ranch and their stallions. “It’s a busy time of year for us, but it’s a positive busy.”
Watch for Wayne this week as he will be showing in the weanling, yearling, three year old, and aged mares as well as the yearling stallion classes!
Thank you to Courtney, Margaux, and Wayne for your insight and best of luck to you all this week!
Friday, Novemer 15th, 2013–The bitter cold that we’ve been experiencing for the past few days here in Oklahoma City has left us, and the sun is back out and shinning. I took advantage of the warm weather and went down to Prince Farm’s stalls which are located at the front of the Super Barn. There, I met up with AQHA World Champion Anne Prince and her husband, Chester.
Just this morning, Anne won big for a second year in a row with her stallion, PF Premo, winning the World Championship title in Amateur Two-Year-Old Stallions. Just last year “Premo” won the Amateur Yearling Stallions here in Oklahoma City.
“He’s a very special colt, we raised him. His mother is a two-time World Champion and his dad is MH Supremo,” Anne says of Premo. “He’s a really good minded colt–he’s matured beyond our expectations. He was a nice colt last year but this year he’s a really good colt.”
She also adds, “I think everyone appreciates him for his structural correctness and his masculinity. He’s a very attractive colt and conformationally correct which appeals to us because that’s what we are trying to develop in our breeding program.”
PF Premo will be heading to the breeding shed come February, and Anne couldn’t be more excited. Ann states, “His potential for stud power is pretty high because his brothers was so strong.”
Anne and Chester have been in the breeding business for over 20 years. They currently stand PF Premo and Chromed Up at their 50-acre farm in Palmetto, Florida.
Chromed up is another Supremo son and was the Amateur High Point stallion two years ago, along with being crowned a reserve world champion. Just this year he produced a Congress winner out of his first foal crop. Also at Congress, four amateurs led Chromed up babies in the open yearling fillies and two of them made the top five. “That just shows you how good minded they are as well as being nice horses,” says Anne, who led one of those yearlings to a win in the limited open.
Even though Prince Farm LLC has been in the breeding business for two decades now, some people still may not know that Anne and Chester also breed and raise some performance horses. “A lot of people don’t know that’s in our breeding program too, we raise some pleasure horses; we’ve got a good barn; we just have fun. Chester shows the pleasure horses successfully until we sell it.”
Anne even went for the all around at the Select World. She owns and shows Don’t Skip My Charlie who has his all around superior and points in nine events.
Prince Farm LLC teamed up with Dewey Smith four years ago. Dewey acts as the halter trainer, breeding and farm manager there in Florida. “He has done an unbelievable job with our stock both in the breeding shed and on the show road, obviously we’ve had another tremendous year. He has a really hardworking dedicated family and staff and I want to recognize him.”
Anne also wants to recognize the WCHA for putting emphasis back on good structure, and great conformation. “I think Tim Finkenbinder is doing a great job leading us in the right direction, so I think it’s an important tribute that we have a new affiliate with AQHA.”
I asked Anne what she did for fun when she wasn’t working with her horses, and I received a very unusual answer! Anne’s into reef keeping! It’s actually been a passion of hers for years; she owns a 500-gallon tank where she grows different species of coral.
“It has been wiped from our earth because of pollution,” Anne states. So, she, along with others from around the world, maintain and grow coral and even participates in frag swapping; which is when people take fragments of rare pieces of coral and trade them with others and give them a chance to grow that species. Anne actually has a degree in biology so she feels a strong passion for helping to preserve the reefs.
I thoroughly enjoyed spending time talking with Anne and Chester today about their farm and horses. Congratulations again and good luck this week as Dewey Smith takes the lead in the open classes!
After I spoke with the Prince’s, I went down to the trail pen to catch up with some of the exhibitors showing in the Junior Trail.
I spoke with Andrew Augsburger who was showing Huntin For Candy. His horse has been showing the event for a year and a half now, however, this is Augsburger’s first time showing him at the World Show. Andrew said the hardest part about the pattern for him was the diamond and coming off the bridge to the walkovers.
Terry Cross also found this pattern challenging for young horses because so much of the course was elevated. Cross also thought that the walk out over the bride was another obstacle that most exhibitors in the class would find challenging. Terry showed A Blazing Reflection in the class and his mount has been competing in the event for a year and a half now.
Kellie Hinley showed Smartly Packaged who just came off a third place finish in the Trail stakes this year at the Congress. Kellie thought the most challenging parts of the pattern were the trot to a stop inside the box and preparing herself and her horse coming off one obstacle then going directly into the next one. Hinely has another go in the trail later with Absolute Best Asset.
Thank you to everyone that I spoke with today. I really appreciate your insight! Good luck to all the exhibitors who made it back to the finals of Junior Trail, which will show this Tuesday November 19th.
Thursday, November 14th, 2013–Today was another busy day here at the AQHA World Show in Oklahoma City. The show kicked off this morning with six halter classes and by mid-afternoon the pleasure driving was underway. The Amateur Pleasure Driving had over 20 qualifiers competing in it this year! Earlier this week, they had three splits to find the twelve exhibitors who would compete in the finals today. Coming out on top was Terrie Booth who drove Luke Here Honey to her first personal world championship title. Congratulations Terrie!
Starting at seven this evening was the Amateur Tie-Down Roping and Breakaway Roping. After those two events wrapped up, it was time for the finals of the Amateur Ranch Horse Pleasure. This seems to be the class that everyone has been buzzing about this year, and I can see why with over 70 entries. I have found that many people, including myself seem to know very little about this event. So to gain a little more insight about why this event has gained a lot of popularity, I met up with amateur competitor Kodi Anderson.
Native-born Australian, Kodi Anderson (pictured left) has been competing in the horse industry since she was ten years-old. She competed in the Ranch horse Pleasure here at the World Show, and I wanted to know what had piqued her interest in this event.
“My horse is 18 now and not quite keeping up with today’s pleasure horses. We also show in the western riding, trail, and reining and I thought that ranch horse pleasure was the best of both worlds. It has some poles, lead changes and just a more natural moving gait to it.”
If you haven’t watched ranch horse pleasure I encourage you to do so, it’s exciting to watch! There are four suggested patterns for the class; however, judges may choose to utilize a different pattern. Maneuvers such as trotting and loping over poles, side passing, and lead changes are asked of the horse and rider. The judges want to see forward, free flowing movement combined with smoothness and responsiveness.
It is easy to see why this class has become so popular; it allows horses and riders of different disciplines to come together and compete in a class that as Kodi puts it “has the best of both worlds.”
So watch out for the open ranch horse pleasure prelims, which are this upcoming Tuesday, and finals on Thursday.
Stay tuned for more reports from the show!
Wednesday, November 13th, 2013–Well the bitter cold came just in time for one of my favorite events here at the AQHA World Show, the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle! This class is always an exciting class to watch here in Oklahoma City. There’s always a tough group of horses competing for the coveted gold trophy.
After the class I caught up with Rebekah Kazakevicius who finished fourth in the class with her mount, Huntin My Zipper, aka Bob. He was bred by Charlie Cole and Jason Martin, and is sired by the Porter’s stallion, Hubba Hubba Huntin.
“My original intention was to show Bob in the western pleasure futurities,” Rebekah admits. “But, Beth (Case) started riding him this spring and teaching him the under saddle.”
Ever since he has excelled at both the English and western events. Rebekah and Bob were seventh at the Congress in the Three Year-Old Limited Non Pro Western Pleasure and won both the Limited and Non Pro Three Year Old Hunter Under Saddle classes as well. Rebekah attributes their success in both classes to Bob’s size and natural cadence.
This marks the first time that one of Hubba’s foals has made the top five in the hunter under saddle. “It goes to show you that Hubba’s good mind and versatility in the show pen is being passed along to his babies,” says Hubba’s owner Breanne Porter.
As always, the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle was a fun class to watch. A big congratulations to everyone who was in the top fifteen and to Courtney Brockmueller for her win with a baby on board!
