California native Marcie Budine will always remember her first world show. Marcie and her four-year-old bay stallion, What Matters Most, “Wally” were the unanimous winners of the Performance Halter Stallions and won their very first world championship–a first for both horse and rider. After the chaos that comes with such an exciting honor, Peyton Bivins had the chance to sit down with Marcie and her trainer Nancy Sue Ryan to learn more about her journey through the world of horses and life back in California.
Peyton: Hi Marcie! First off we would like to congratulate you on your win. What an amazing thing to have achieved your first time showing at an AQHA World Championship Show.
Marcie: Thank you!
Peyton: How long have you been showing American Quarter Horses and how did you get your start in this industry?
Marcie: In 1983, as I began my first year of college, I became involved with American Quarter Horses by working with David Connors. I had an over fence horse and that’s where I got my start. After college, I met my husband and we got married and became involved in the Quarter Horse industry through buying and selling young horses while progressing up the ladder.
Peyton: How do you explain the feeling of winning your first world championship?
Nancy Sue Ryan: Well, I do have a good story. When we were on our way to Amarillo, we had to stop and I had gotten out of the truck, and when I came back (after being gone for maybe five minutes), I opened the door and Marcie was bawling. I immediately asked what was wrong, and she said, “It just hit me that I am going to my first world show!”
Marcie: I did, I was crying! I had just talked with my husband, and I mean, this has been a dream of mine for so long. Then, when we were out there (after they announced the winner) I could not believe we had won. I still have yet to come down from cloud nine. It’s so amazing.
Peyton: Can you tell me a little bit about your horse, What Matters Most?
Marcie: Well he is a four-year-old stallion by The Krymsun Kruzer and I have had him for a year and a half. We bought him as a three-year-old and began doing futurities last year and eventually qualified for the world show, which was my main goal with him. His barn name is “Wally” and when I am angry with him I call him “Walter”. His main quirk is his obsession with what I call “stud muffins”. They are cookies that I feed him and just call them that as a joke. He is such a quiet stallion and I cannot say enough good things about The Krymsun Kruzer. I never thought I would own a stallion and he is truly one-of-a-kind.
Peyton: What are you plans with Wally when it comes to breeding him?
Marcie: Well, we have already begun to breed him, just a small amount to begin with and we want to really introduce him to the public in the next year. We have bred him to eight mares, two of them my mares, the other six part of our small year of breeding.
Peyton: What’s next for the two of you after you finish competing at the Select World?
Marcie: Well, “Wally” and Brittany Andrews will be showing in the Junior Hunter Under Saddle at the World Show in November. I would like to begin doing more all around events such as trail and working on a lead change. He just has such a great personality for the all around, however he is a bit “slow-mo” so getting him motivated will be a challenge.
For me, I will be showing my other mare, Last Minute Investment, in the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle at the world show. She will also be shown by Alison Clark in the Junior Hunter Saddle at the world show come November. She and “Wally” will be competing against each other so we will see how that goes. I am very excited about that.
Peyton: When not showing horses, what are some other things you enjoy doing?
Marcie: I have a 15-year-old daughter and her name is Kayla Budine. Kayla is involved with many sports, including track and cheerleading, as well as competing as a youth with my mare, Last Minute Investment. We just bought a new western pleasure mare that is with Cole Baker in Florida, and we will show that mare at the Congress which is very exciting for us. When we aren’t showing horses, we do lots of fundraisers for the high school and my husband is very involved with the football community in Oakdale. Kayla was put on the varsity track team last year, which was her freshman year, so I am very busy driving her around. We also have a lake house near Yosemite and we love to go boating.
Peyton: Thank you so much to Marcie and Nancy Sue for sitting down with me to chat about this exciting accomplishment. We wish Marcie the best of luck in the hunter under saddle later this week and hope “Wally” gets lots of stud muffins during his stay in Amarillo!
