Follow Our PleasureHorse.com Blogger At The 2014 American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup
Contributed by our blogger, Quinn Brandt (scroll down to read her bio below her posts)
July 13, 2014
July 12, 2014
July 11, 2014
Today started off early again, with a quick breakfast and then we got ready for the reining competition and clinics. The first set of horses were drawn for in the morning. The clinic kicked off well with Bud Lyons and others. Our first reiner, Madison Steed, rode well and ended up being just out of the placings. After lunch, we had a couple hours off to rest up for the remainder of the day. The second clinic started and our next rider, Haley Stradling, saddled up to try her hand at it. The evening reining had many good rides, and Haley ended up with a 4th place and a 5th place. We were all very excited for her, and this really got the all around riders excited to show again the next day.
July 10, 2014
This was the first show day here at the World Cup. Everyone was excited to show even if we had to get up at 5am for breakfast! Once everyone headed down to the barns, it was time to get the horses ready to show. The whole day seems like blur. Running from class to class gets very very tiring by the end of the day. Overall, we didn’t do too bad in our first day of competition. Jenna Salmon had an 8th in Showmanship, I had a 3rd in Showmanship, and Shayley had a 2nd in Showmanship, a 9th in Hunter Under Saddle, and an 8th in Hunt Seat Equitation. We are hoping to improve daily throughout the next two days.
July 9, 2014
Today we spent most of our day at the Expo Centre yet again. Trail and hunter under saddle clinics took place, and plenty was learned even if it was a beastly 104 degrees outside. The trail clinic consisted of different clinicians stationed at individual obstacles giving pointers to the youth, which was extremely helpful and appreciated. Jenna, Shayley and I all took part in this clinic. Afterwards the hunter under saddle clinic took place. I had to switch horses and get back to the warmup pen to get ready to participate. Everyone else decided to clean up the horses and prepare them for show day the next day.
Later on we had the privilege of joining the Y.E.S. conference once again. We listened to speeches and ate supper. The Canadian team enjoyed the evening events and some even decided to join in a dance, while others opted for an earlier bedtime, myself included.
July 8, 2014
After cleaning stalls and caring for the horses, we had the equitation clinic. The clinic went well, with Shayley Beaton, Jenna Salmon and myself riding for Team Canada. Later on in the day, we listened to a YES (Youth Excellence Seminar) conference presentation on cultural awareness. Later on in the afternoon we had a free ride which we took advantage of as we continue to get to know our horses and improve our rides. Supper was amazing and it was topped off with Josh Sundquist, a motivational speaker.
The excitement continues to build for tomorrow’s show and an early start means an early night!
July 7, 2014
The day started off early again with cleaning stalls, followed by an exhilarating day of cutting. It started off with a clinic, and was followed by lunch and the competition. We have a couple of talented girls riding in cutting and things were looking good for us. By the time the competition rolled around it was in the heat of the day. Our girls had good runs, but just had some tough luck, so unfortunately we were just out if the placings. The day finished with Germany taking home two gold medals. Our coach made us reservations at the Texas Roadhouse for supper, so we were checked out for the evening and spent our time with friends and family.
July 5, 2014
The day started off with another early breakfast and then we headed off to the stables to take care of the horses. After the daily coaches meeting, our single western riding rider, Shayley Beaton, tacked up Richard and took off to tackle the first clinic of the Youth World Cup, western riding with Adam Wainscott and Robin Frid. While this was taking place, the rest of our girls, including me, saddled up our four other horses and took them to the south pen for a quick ride before the showmanship clinic. Shortly after the western riding clinic, Jenna Salmon, Shayley and I headed off to work the showmanship clinic with Jenny Frid, which we tackled with much success. Finally, it was time for a well-deserved lunch. This was followed by a trip to a tack store, South Texas Tack, that is a large sponsor of the event. Everyone on the Canadian team made good use of this trip, picking up odds and ends to complete the grooming supplies and tack we need for this event. For supper, our coach checked us out of the evening events that were planned and we headed to one of our host families’ houses, where we were greeted by the additional three families. They made us a huge spread for supper that tasted amazing. We enjoyed our evening filled with games and good conversation. By the time we headed back to our apartments we were exhausted and headed to bed hoping to be rested up and energized for the next day.
Special thanks goes out to our host families: Dr Jose and Earline Solis, Dr Julian and Mrs Amy Kang, Randall and Tara Branham with children Erika and Dan, as well as Ray and Carol Grisham. Team Canada is thrilled to have these families help us throughout the week.
July 4, 2014
After an early start to the day, all of the teams, including Canada, set off for the show venue. Here we participated in opening ceremonies. The national anthems played and host families cheered for each individual team as they entered the arena. It was very exciting. Next, was the moment everyone has been waiting for… drawing for the lots of horses. These will be the horses we compete on all week. Canada drew lot number 8, which we felt was a good group of horses. Our feelings were confirmed after a quick inspection and visit with the horses and owners.
For lunch, we had a huge pasta spread, and it was amazing! Finally, it was time for our first free ride, where we got acquainted with our horses, learning their quirks, specialties and how they rode. Our team has awesome horses, and we were all very happy with our rides. I am very excited to see how they will take to the clinics and shows.
After riding, we headed back to the residence to have some down time. Most people either swam in the pool or napped. For supper, we were on our way to the Texas A&M equine centre, which is a beautiful facility. Dancers entertained us, and some of us even had the opportunity to learn some of the steps. Haley Stradling (another Canadian rider) and myself decided to learn some moves, and we were joined on the dance floor by a couple of friends we met at the last Youth World Cup, Jim Stors (Luxemburg) and Kenzie Teals (Belgium). We decided it was fun rather then embarrassing. Being the Fourth of July, the celebrations included a wonderful display of fireworks.
July 3, 2014
The day started off early, as most of us were up before the sun and boarded our airplanes before morning. I flew from Thunder Bay to Toronto where I met up with two additional team members. After exchanging “hellos” we wandered around the airport until it was time to board. Finally, we were Texas bound! A day many of us have been anxiously awaiting. Once the slight upset stomachs and butterflies were calmed, they were again aroused by turbulence and a rerouting of our course due to weather. We arrived in Houston where we were greeted with the new faces of additional team members. After we realized there were still two of us missing, we sat down by baggage claim and waited and waited and waited. Finally, after waiting upwards of three hours, we were on our way. We gathered up the luggage that hadn’t been lost and proceeded on our two-hour drive to college station where we were greeted by our four host families sporting our red and white home colours. Even though we were exhausted from traveling all day, it was exciting to have people happy for our arrival. It was easy for them to put smiles on our faces with their cookies and kind words. After saying goodnight to our welcome committee, we proceeded upstairs to have a quick team meeting and then went straight to bed.
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The 2014 American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup, held July 3 – 13 in Bryan/College Station TX, is underway and we’re excited to welcome Quinn Brandt as our blogger from the event!
Quinn, 17, is from Steinbach Manitoba and is riding for Team Canada. She also rode for Team Canada at the 2012 Youth World Cup in Kreuth, Germany. As an all-around rider, Quinn competed and placed in Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Hunt Seat Equitation and Trail. Her dedication to her team, her sportsmanship and of course, her riding experience and show record earned her a place on the 2014 team. Quinn has been riding since she was five years old. Since her first riding experience, Quinn fell in love with the horse world and began her show career. She has had the opportunity to train with numerous trainers and show numerous horses in the Quarter Horse circuit as well as at futurities. Her success in the show ring has been rewarded with many circuit and year-end high point awards both in Canada and the United States, two 2-year-old futurity championships and top ten Novice Champion Show (west) in 2012. Quinn has also earned multiple Canadian National Championships and Reserve Championships.
We will post her blog entries here on PleasureHorse.com and will share via our Facebook page as well. Be sure to check our website and Facebook page often to get the latest thoughts and experiences from our newest blogger, Quinn Brandt!