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NSBA Youth Cap Off a Successful 2014 Ford Youth World

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Image courtesy of NSBA.
Image courtesy of NSBA.

Several NSBA Youth members took home quite a bit of hardware at the 2014 Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Show.  Successes came in Western Pleasure, Trail, Hunt Seat Equitation, Hunter Under Saddle, Horsemanship, Showmanship, Western Riding, and Hunt Seat Equitation.

Katerina Mendel and Hillary Roberts defended their 2013 world titles in Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure, respectively.  Mendel piloted her 2008 gelding, Willys on the Green, to their second consecutive world championship in Hunter Under Saddle out of 117 entries.  Roberts and Whatscookngoodlookin wrapped up their youth career with another title in Western Pleasure out of 91 entries, thus also taking home the NSBA bronze.

Image courtesy of NSBA.
Image courtesy of NSBA.

Not only did Roberts take home the world championship in Western Pleasure, but earlier in the week, she bested a field of 146 over a difficult Tim Kimura pattern to win the title in Trail with her other horse, Chrome on My Zipper.

“I’ve been with that horse for six years, and with my trainers, Butch and Patty Campbell for ten years,” Roberts said. “It was a very special win with this horse, because it’s been a tough one especially for Butch, who has had three back surgeries.”

In the center of the ring, Gentry Cherry, Madison Thiel, and Klay McDowall guided their horses through intricate patterns to claim the top spots in Hunt Seat Equitation, Showmanship, and Horsemanship.  Out of a field of 151 entries, Gentry Cherry and Imasgoodasitgets conquered a tough pattern and difficult rail work without irons to leave the Norwick Arena with the golden globe and NSBA bronze.  

Image courtesy of NSBA.
Image courtesy of NSBA.

Earlier in the week, Madison Thiel and HF Lazy Lopin Diva competed in Showmanship, one of the show’s largest classes with 185 entries.  Having only been a team since April, Thiel and “Diva” successfully navigated the pattern to win the world championship.  Klay McDowall and Certainly a Blaze executed a near flawless pattern to seize the top spot in Horsemanship, a class he had his eyes set on for several years.

Well known as a force to be reckoned with in the western pleasure arena, Deanna Green and the great mare, Blazinmytroublesaway, laid claim to the title in Western Riding, proving they work as well together off the rail as on it.  

Watch for some of these competitors as they take on the NSBA World Championships, August 9-17.  For complete results and coverage for the 2014 Ford Youth World, visit the official webpage.