After a 10 year absence, the Appaloosa Youth Judging Contest was re-kindled at the National Show. Helping make it happen is Laurie Wunderly, pictured to the left of some of the contestants.
She’s real happy with the results since there were 18 teams in the competition, 2 college/16 youth.
They judge horses in the morning then have to face a real judge in the afternoon where they provide reasons to justify their placements. Laurie says the contest provides students a first opportunity to learn judging and develop some real self confidence in their abilities.
Last night Callaway performed her benefit concert for support of Appaloosa Youth Association activities. She was a big hit with the young audience.
She played a full set of songs with her band and showed why she’s an up and coming star.
The ring was opened up so that everyone could come down out of the stands and get up close and personal. It took a little coaxing but once Callaway got started most of the crowd moved on down.
You can watch Callaway perform one of her songs in this video:
I know Savannah Scott’s family didn’t bring an extra truck but they’ve got a Featherlite Trailer to take home and use for a year. Savannah received numerous awards. In fact, you need to listen to her list them off in our interview. Besides the trailer she’s taking home 2 saddles, 2 belt buckles and a laptop computer.
I spoke to Savannah, along with her Mom and trainer, after the youth awards yesterday. She says that this is a once in lifetime achievement and she wants to just enjoy the moment. When I asked her if she had to put in a lot of work to be so good she said, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”
She’s going to continue competing and said she may show a couple of horses still before leaving.
Everyone at the World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show is either busy or about to be busy and recuperating from being busy or getting enthused about being busy. I found this assortment of Southwestern folks hanging out in barn 23.
Left to right:George Betancourt, San Antonio, Texas, who’s helping wrangle several youth exhibitors this week. George is also a member of the ApHC International Advisory Committee and has been invaluable to the club in coordinating travel and communications with contacts in Mexico. Next are youth exhibitors: Hattie Msuya, Edmond, Oklahoma; Fernando Vera, Guadalajara, Mexico; Jacob and Zachary Jordan, Seguin, Texas.
It was an impressive line-up in this evening’s Saddle Seat Pleasure, 18 & Under class. But I’ll confess that I’ve always been a fan, from wa-a-a-y back to the days of late night “society” horse shows at the local county fair.
In the case of the World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show, we are able to see first-hand evidence of the versatility of our breed and of our young riders. Of course, I also just happen to like the attire — stylish and fancy. What better way to show off a little?
Exhibitors in today’s Showmanship at Halter classes were only part of the scene in the paddock. Grooms, trainers, parents, siiblings, friends and other support crew members made things a bit of a blur. I keep coming back to the fact that the ApHC youth are as good as what any breed group can put in the show ring. I’m so proud of them and I know everyone able to be here in Jackson for the World Championship Youth Show is equally impressed and proud. Thanks to all the youth exhibitors! You’re making it a super event.
This Hunt Seat Equitation class was “deep” with quality. Judges got a good workout evaluating performances by an impressive group of exhibitors at the World Championship Youth Show in Jackson. As you can tell from the crowd, lots of friends, fans and family were anxious to see their favorites do well. Results will be posted on the show section of appaloosa.com.
We need to catch up on earlier news from Sunday’s Appaloosa Youth Association speech contest. There were nine entrants, two categories and two age divisions. As one of the judges, I can tell you that our Appaloosa youth members are GOOD! It was an enjoyable but tough task to assign scores to the presentations.
Pictured here are Anna Brown, ApHC Youth Program Coordinator, and Sarah Whitaker, winner of the 14-18 impromptu speaking category and second-place winner in the prepared speech competition. Sarah is from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and will be a sophomore at Auburn University this fall.
Man, woman and beast seem to have an instinct about avoiding sunburn and crinkled eyes. This Appaloosa and his companion share the protective shade of a golf cart during the bright part of an afternoon in Jackson, Mississippi, as the World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show gets underway. The weather has been summer-like, but not any more challenging than most other parts of the country (and definitely not as hot as California!).
I’m always struck by the convenience afforded by golf carts at horse shows. And, I’m betting, most trainers, parents and exhbitors probably wouldn’t want to know how many trips back and forth from stalls to the show arena they actually make in a week’s time.
Appaloosa World Championship Youth Show competitors in a hunter-under-saddle class keep their horses moving as they wait for the call to enter the show ring. Much like the on-deck circle at a baseball game, participants use the staging area to loosen up, think about what they will need to do to make a hit with the judges and make any adjustments to equipment or strategy. They’ve already been through countless hours of lessons and practice. They’ve lived through similar experiences and certainly know what to do and how to do it. Sometimes the hard part is recreating all the good moves you and your horse have made outside the ring and making a great impression when it counts for the chance to take home a ribbon or trophy from the biggest event of the season.
ApHC judges must focus on small details as well as the overall performance of exhibitors. In this English Showmanship class on day one of the World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show in Jackson, Mississippi, the scoring needed to be precise and picky in order to come up with eventual placings. Exhibitors are alone “on stage” and it’s undoubtedly a bit intimidating to feel all those gazes fixed on every maneuver. ApHC youth are outstanding and quite poised. It’s pretty impressive to see how well they can perform and it’s obvious the horse-human partnership has developed to a high level.
The Appaloosa Youth Association Board of Directors met Sunday prior to the Youth World Show in Jackson, Mississippi. The group has several fund-raising projects while at the show as well as throughout the year. As we have emphasized before, we regard the youth members as the heart of the organization – today, not just sometime in the future. Leadership development for AYA members is definitely in the best interest of the Appaloosa Horse Club for lots of reasons.
It’s especially gratifying to watch these folks engage in friendly yet focused competition, then come together for non-show fun later in the day. Sportsmanship and a variety of life’s lessons are very much among the benefits of youth activities in the equine world.
The photo includes AYA directors who met on Sunday. Front row (left to right): Candice Taggart, AYA Vice President, from San Clemente, California; Kaylyn Baker, West Palm Beach, Florida; and Josh Clevenger, Mount Olive, Illinois. Back row (left to right): Holly Lentz, Whitelaw, Wisconsin; Elizabeth Fagan, Treasurer, from Danvers, Massachusetts; Mackenzie Allen, AYA President, Bellingham, Washington; Brianna Bailey, AYA Secretary, Greeneville, Tennessee; Mallory Campbell, Oxford, Georgia; and Cheyanne Nolan, Mount Vernon, Texas.
Greetings from the Fordice Equine Center at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson. It’s time for the 61st National Appaloosa Show and World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show. This scene is from Sunday’s practice time in advance of the first youth classes which kick things off Monday Morning.
Exhibitors found the air conditioned atmosphere of the equine center to be a great place to work their horses — or just visit with friends. Actually, the weather forecast is for relatively cool nights and “normal” summer days around 90 degrees. There are two or three other covered practice areas and shaved ice, so we think we’ll survive just fine.
Sunday was a busy day for members of the Appaloosa Youth Association, with a meeting of AYA directors, a speech contest, ice cream and the 2007 Awards banquet. We’ll provide some follow-up posts on the contest and banquet. Stay tuned.
We received the note below and thought it worthy of dissemination. If a regional club or other group would be interested in supporting Beth, it could certainly be a rewarding endeavor. I mentioned to her that we are in the process of organizing the Appaloosa Foundation, which will be an appropriate channel for this type of request. More details about the Foundation will be available once it’s official.
Hi, my name is Beth Levine. I am an accomplished Para-equestrian rider. A Para-equestrian rider is a rider with some type of physical challenge. I have been on the “long list” of the USA Team for Para-equestrians for some time. One can find out more about this type of riding and competition at USEF web site under the sub-heading of “high-Performance”. Additionally, information can also be found on the USET web site. The Paralympic movement was begun after WWII in an effort to offer soldiers injured in the service of their country more opportunities for rehabilitation as well as a chance to again excel.
In order to be moved to the “short list” of the USA Team I need an appropriate partner to stand out with. Such a horse will need to be competitive at an international level in dressage to Prix St. Georges and would have the opportunity to be an exceptional ambassador for his/her breed! The United States Equestrian Federation recognizes dressage as the fastest growing area of the horse industry and is fueled by the Amateur Owner.
I propose that your association assist me in purchasing a horse that will wonderfully represent your breed. Not only will this offer a yearly chance to internationally promote your breed to the “dressage community” as a representative of Team USA but also we (the horse and I) would be available for other events and FEI competitions to promote your extraordinary breed throughout the year! I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you,
Beth
“Not only does YOUR breed excel in Dressage-but it is SO wonderful that it can do so with a challenged rider”.
Contact Information
BETH LEVINE
19723 112th Ave. NE
#D203
Bothell WA 98011
Email: bethrides@yahoo.com
We really enjoy getting reports from the field about Appaloosa folks doing well and spreading the gospel. Here’s a note from Brian McLachlin about daughter Kaylee, who is a member of the Alberta ApHA:
The photo is of Kaylee (McLachlin), Amigo and Frank Madden from the 3 day clinic at the Mane Event. The clinic went very well, and was a very positive experience. The sessions each day were 75 minutes long, and done in groups of 6 riders. The other 5 horses in Kaylee’s group were all large bays that were 1 to 2 hands taller than Amigo. Needless to say, Amigo stood out. I heard one girl sitting near us say “I want to see the Appy go, it might give me hope for mine.”
The first day was mostly flatwork, and Frank made a few comments like “That was good for an Appaloosa”, so I wasn’t too sure how the 3 days would go. Saturday saw some more flat work and Amigo stood out, not because of his size or color but because of his nice extended trot. It certainly caught the eye of the crowd which was huge on Saturday. There was more jumping than the day before and Kaylee more than held her own. She and Amigo rode clean, while a few of the other horses were taking down a rail or two.
Day three was mostly jumping, and Frank couldn’t say enough nice things about Amigo. One of the warm-up exercises saw the riders doing 5 strides between fences at a fairly open gallop. When it was Kaylee’s turn, Frank figured they would have to do 6 strides, but they did it in 5 like the bigger warmbloods. At this point he commented on how Amigo was “a real tryer”. Near the end of the session they did the course as if it was a jump-off situation. Amigo and Kaylee made some very neat inside turns, and went clear. The last 2 fences Frank was saying “What a horse! What a horse!” He told the crowd that he has great jump.
It was wonderful to see the difference in his comments from Friday to Sunday. By the applause you could tell Amigo was definitely a crowd favorite. Kaylee had many people coming up to her after the clinic to talk about her horse. The clinic was a great learning experience. Kaylee improved her fundamentals, and learned a lot about course management. It also showed that she is doing many things correctly, and that Amigo is getting some excellent training by Kaylee’s coach.
All Posts
After a 10 year absence, the Appaloosa Youth Judging Contest was re-kindled at the National Show. Helping make it happen is Laurie Wunderly, pictured to the left of some of the contestants.
Interview With Laurie Wunderly (2 min MP3)
Last night Callaway performed her benefit concert for support of Appaloosa Youth Association activities. She was a big hit with the young audience.
I know Savannah Scott’s family didn’t bring an extra truck but they’ve got a Featherlite Trailer to take home and use for a year. Savannah received numerous awards. In fact, you need to listen to her list them off in our interview. Besides the trailer she’s taking home 2 saddles, 2 belt buckles and a laptop computer.
