GoHorseShow would like to congratulate Blake Weis on winning the Junior Trail at the AQHA World Show for the second year in a row. Last year, he won the class on 2015 Superhorse Snap Krackle Pop with an eye-popping score of a 243.5. This year, Blake showed So Good To B Me who is by Batt Man (Robin) and out of Good Baby Hotrod owned by Steve and Tanya Relander of Aledo, Illinois. Weis had an impressive and clean go to bring home the championship with a score of a 222.
“Ever since I was little riding ponies around, it was always a goal to win the world one day. Never did I think I would win the world two years in a row in the same class,” Blake told us right after his win. “It’s just crazy! I really like the Junior Trail because the horse needs help and guidance. You never know what they are going to do. It is exciting because Robin has never been in this atmosphere. He also hasn’t been anywhere since the NSBA World. I didn’t know what to expect, but he stayed with me every step of the way.”
Weis adds, “I thought he gave me everything today. He is just brilliant, and I was so proud of him. I started him in the trail in January of this year and I think he has only been shown around eight to ten times in the trail this year.”
Robin’s owners, Steve and Tanya Relander, who have mostly raised pleasure horses, now own their first AQHA World Champion trail horse. “I called them right after I showed and said to Tanya, ‘Who would have thought you’d have a world champion in the trail?’ Tanya was laughing and giggling on the phone. She was so excited,” Weis told us.
Weis credits winning the Youth Trail at the Congress ten years ago with Chips Private Stars as being his life-changing horse. Success in that event helped lead him to his passion for the trail and training and showing as a professional.
His mom, trainer and judge, Kendra Weis had a few words for her son after his win. “After I showed today, my mother Kendra (pictured right hugging Blake after his win) hugged me and told me how I have come a long way from when I was a little boy riding my pony, Porky, around the show grounds scaring all the horses,” Weis chuckled.
Weis also told us about some interesting rituals that he follows when he shows at the AQHA World Show. Today, those rituals were challenged. “I always use the exact same tack, saddles, bridles, spurs and chaps. However, today, I’m getting ready to go walk the trail course and I can’t find my spurs. Someone had moved them. I was mad and I told them at the barn. ‘I don’t care what you do, find my spurs!’ The spurs I usually wear are perfect for Robin. People were asking me in the stands if I was ready to show and I said, ‘No, I don’t have my spurs. Someone at the stalls lost my spurs and somehow they ended up in someone else’s groom bag.’ But I guess these spurs worked okay – they had clover leaf rowels which I guess was lucky today because we came out on top.”
We would like to congratulate Blake and Robin on a job well done.
Anyone’s Game – Junior Trail Prelims
Even though Weis won the class for the second year in a row, the Junior Trail had quite a few surprises in store. Many top trainers who have typically had success in the class failed to make the finals, leading us to wonder why?
“That’s trail for ya,” Brad Ost told us. “The world show patterns are never easy and they are junior horses. No matter how broke they are, they are still young and inexperienced. I think with those hard patterns, it just comes down to who makes it through nice and penalty free.”
“The prelims pattern was very hard and there were some really tough transitions. A lot of top riders didn’t have a good day, including me,” Charlie Cole told us after he failed to make the finals on Friday.”Just goes to show why trail is so popular, it’s anybody’s game.”
Some of the younger and up-and-coming trainers talked us about their runs and making the finals.
Holden Jung from Farmington, Utah, made it to the finals on Made Rite by Machine Made discussed his prelims run. “I thought the pattern was a very good pattern and Tim Kimura did what he does best and made the pattern look easy on paper, but it was much harder to ride, which is the way it should be. I think the usual people didn’t make it back because trail is a class that is almost impossible to stay on top of. It’s a different pattern with different obstacles every time you show and it’s very easy to miscount an obstacle, misguide an obstacle or even forget where you’re going. It takes a lot of focus and that’s why everyone loves and hates the class. You’ll never master it, and it’s always a challenge and that’s why I think you’ll continue to see different faces in the finals every year!”
Colton LaSusa from Athens, Pennsylvania rode Bettin Im Best by RL Best Of Sudden to the Level 2 Championship. He also made it to the Level 3 finals. “I think it can be anyone’s game in the trail. This is my second world show, and my first time showing in trail here. I think the pattern had a lot of transitions and big strides and smaller strides. I choose to keep my horse a little more fresh as she works more attentive fresh. I practiced a lot of transitions off the poles. Chili is a very special horse and I’m super proud of her.”
Kyle Simmons from Marshall, Texas showed Our Sleepy Valentine to a sixth place finish in the Level 2 Junior Trail and is excited to be competing in the Level 3 Finals. “The prelims pattern was great and very flowing. I think with the junior horses it takes a special one to handle the challenge of the big city. My red horse is an exceptionally good minded four-year-old, so that helps a lot I think. The other challenge, in my opinion, is preparing a junior horse on the first day at the start of the show which really calls on them to grow up fast.”
*We’d like to congratulate Holden Jung on placing sixth in the Level 3 finals, Colton LaSusa and Bettin Im Best on placing 11th, and Kyle Simmons and Our Sleepy Valentine on placing 14th.
Photos © Hollie Byers
View slideshow of photos of Blake’s World Championship run kindly taken by Hollie Byers.
