65th National Appaloosa Show and World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show is Underway
Greetings from Tulsa, Oklahoma where the much anticipated Appaloosa National Championship and Youth World Show is underway. After days of trailers arriving from all over the country, exhibitors and horses have eagerly waited to compete, and that moment has arrived.
The class to kick things off in the Ford Truck Arena was the Walk/Trot Nez Perce Stake Race, 10 and Under. This class, unlike its counterparts, is run with one horse in the arena at a time, and this age group is the only one to race against the clock. All other age groups race horse against horse and work in a bracket elimination system. The equivalent class in other associations with different rules would be a pole bending class.
A listed fifteen entries at the gate, and a total of twelve riders completed their game pattern with a clocked official time. All riders who had earned a time were welcomed back into the pen for the announcement of top ten results. When all was said and done, Caitlin Wright, from Troy Michigan, riding DKG Midnight Lace, with a time of 31.113, was crowned Youth World Champion. The Reserve World Champion was Morgan Rees, riding Spot Me Too Doc from Noblesville, Indiana with IB Stables. Morgan had a time of 31.583.
In the nearby Mustang Arena, the Hunter in Hand classes for the mares and geldings were held. This class is designed to showcase movement and confirmation of the horse as they execute a series of set triangular patterns. In the Youth Hunter in Hand Geldings, the judges awarded the 2012 Youth World Championship to Pardon Me Girls in the hand of Molly Gruener of Phillips, Nebraska. The Reserve Youth World Champion was Shys Blue Boy with Abby Bruno from Moreno, California.
The World Champion in the Youth Hunter in Hand Mares class was Secondhand Gossip in the hand of Michaela Dinger from Keller, Texas. Colton Cruse from Santa Fe, Texas, took home the Reserve World Championship trophy with his horse, Artfully Blue.
Check back often on the Appaloosa National Show and World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show Page here on PleasureHorse.com for news, results and information on the show!
One thing is common place with all the young people of all ages ….pride. You can see it in their faces going to check in at the gate, with proud parents following behind. In each wash stall at 5:30 am, making sure each of the spots on their horses were the ones that were suppose to be there. You can learn a lot about dedication, patience and talent from these youth who are full of enthusiasm for their horses and their breed. It is truly their breed of choice for a reason, you can see it each time they compete or walk by you in the aisles.
They truly love what they do.