Youth Take on the Showmanship Show Ring on Saturday

Precision.  Finesse.  Poise.  That was the name of the game as Youth took to the Showmanship classes Saturday at the All American Quarter Horse Congress.  All three age groups (11 & under, 12-14, and 15-18) saw large class numbers and stiff competition.  The largest class was the 15-18 Showmanship which boasted a whopping 118 entries, and won by showmanship rockstar team, Sydney Scheckel and A Perfect Pleasure.  Scheckel and “Pip” made headlines a few months ago with their near-flawless showmanship pattern at the Ford Youth World that earned them a World Championship, and then hopped on bareback for a very memorable victory lap.

At age 17, this is Pip’s last showmanship pattern as she will be enjoying much-deserved retirement.  She and Scheckel have been a team to contend with for the past 5 years and have won the showmanship in all three age groups and Novice at the Congress.  Scheckel plans to change her focus to the Reined Cowhorse classes next year with her new horse.

The 12-14 showmanship Congress championship was claimed by Jillian Stopperich and Invested Pine Asset, who followed in her big sister, Paige’, footsteps, and snagged the top spot in both the AQHA and NSBA showmanship.  Paige won the same class six years ago.

11 & under competitors showed that they may be young, but they are already a force to be reckoned with in the show ring.  Brooke Tubesing and Just My Cash navigated the pattern with very few errors and walked out the winners in both AQHA and NSBA.  

To view the complete list of showmanship results, click here.