Final Day of the World Championship Appaloosa Show Ends With Familiar Faces and an ‘Old Pro’ Earning Championships

The World Championship Appaloosa Show came to a close at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, with familiar faces and an old pro leading the list of champions on its final day.

In the Appaloosa Pleasure Horse Association’s Non-Pro/Youth All Age Maturity Western Pleasure, Jordan Semmelmayer piloted Rock My Motion (shown at left) to the win and a check for $1,344 after earning a unanimous spot at the top of the cards of judges Greg Wheat, Rusty Green, Linda Long and Dan Williams.

The four-year-old gelding by Hot Chocolate Chip and out of Shes Radical had won ApHC and NSBA Junior Western Pleasure earlier in the show with trainer Sara Simons.

“We bought him when he was a two year old, so we’ve been showing him for about two years,” said Semmelmayer. “He’s a pretty progressive mover for an Appaloosa. He moves more like a Quarter Horse, and I love that about him. I pretty much love everything about him. He’s my pet, and he’s awesome.”

Although the World Championship Appaloosa Show is the last event of the year, Semmelmayer is already thinking about the 2015 show season. “We hope to add NSBA events next year,” she said. “We’re putting a lead change on him for the Western Riding. It’s going to be fun to add more events for him next year.”

For Haley Gleeson, 22 year old gelding Undue Influence (shown at right) proved to be the perfect partner for the 2014 show season, and the pair ended the year by being named the ApHC and NSBA champions in Novice Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle.

“I had graduated from college and sort of took this year off,” Gleeson said. “I used to show the Western all around classes before I took time off for college, and I thought the Hunter Under Saddle would be a new challenge. I’m good friends with ‘Riley’s’ owner, and I was fortunate that we were able to bring him out of retirement and show together this year.”

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