The All American Quarter Horse Congress saw a busy Sunday, with the majority of National Youth Activity Team Tournament classes and the NYATT awards ceremony, as well as a number of futurity, stakes and AQHA Dual-Approved classes. Futurity, Stakes and AQHA events were also taking place throughout the day.
Southern States Teams Win Big
This year’s NYATT contest attracted 45 teams and more than 300 youth who competed in classes that began with NYATT Ranch and NYATT Reining two weeks ago.
Texas Lone Star Quarter Horse Association led the Division II teams on the strength of first and eighth pace in NYATT Showmanship by Laced N Whiskey and Camille Kennedy and Party Favours and Emerson Knabenshue respectively; a win in NYATT Ranch Riding by Shyne On Me and Ava Jersin; a win in NYATT Hunt Seat Equitation by Exclusively Mocca and Kayla Virga; third in NYAT Western Pleasure by Perfectly Southern and Cara Christensen; third in NYATT Horsemanship by Moonlightin and Libby Wilhelm; fourth in NYATT Reining by Itsmistertou and Sarah Rose Jons; and tenth in NYATT Hunter Under Saddle by Extremely Customized and Rebecca Matthesen.
The Texas team was very excited to get the win. Libby Wilhelm noted “we weren’t all on the same team together before this year, and we did have some team members who hadn’t been in NYATT before. I wanted to come back because it was just fun. Honestly it gives you practice for your other classes, too, and you get to meet a lot of new people. I didn’t know a lot of the other youth until we were in NYATT this year.”
“I wanted to do it this year because I heard from other people how much fun it was,” added Camille Kennedy. “It’s a little different, because there’s a little more pressure – it’s not all on you, you’re trying to help your team. It’s been fun working with my teammates and cheering them on.”
The Texas Lone Star team included advisor Amy Lee and members Bailey Seaenz, Camille Kennedy, Cara Christensen, Emerson Knabenshue, Finley Magdeburg, Kayla Virga, Libby Wilhelm, Madison Freer, Sarah Rose Jons and Troy Dever.
The complete top ten Division I teams were:
1- Texas Lonestar Quarter Horse Association
2- Southern Ohio Quarter Horse Association
3- Michigan Quarter Horse Association
4- Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Youth Association
5- Florida Quarter Horse Youth Association
6- Ohio Quarter Horse Association
7- Texas Texans Quarter Horse Association
8- Illinois Quarter Horse Association
9- Michigan Snaffle Bit Association
10- Ontario Quarter Horse Association Red Team
The South Carolina Quarter Horse Youth Association took top honors in Division I for smaller teams. Their team was led by a second place and tenth place finish in NYATT Western Pleasure by Strike 3 and Logan Starnes and Invite To Strut and Riley Potts; second and thirteenth in NYATT Hunter Under Saddle by The Irons Hot and Cheyenne Augsburger and Heavenwillhavetowait and Kensley Porter; and 11th in NYATT Reining by Vintage Tokyo and Kaylee Hook.
Nearly all of the members of the South Carolina team had been on the team previously. “We wanted to come back and win it,” Logan Starnes said. “We were second two years ago by a point, and we did it.”
When asked what they liked about the team competition, Riley Potts added “it gives you something to work for, because you have your team to come back to. It’s fun.”
The SCQHA team consisted of advisor Angel O’Neal and team members Cheyenne Augsburger, Kaylee Hook, Kaylee O’Neal, Kensley Porter, Logan Starnes and Riley Potts.
The complete top ten teams in Division I were:
1- South Carolina Quarter Horse Youth Association
2- North Carolina Quarter Horse Youth Association
3- Michigan Great Lakes Quarter Horse Association
4- Eastern Ohio Quarter Horse Association
5- Washington State Quarter Horse Association
6- Georgia Quarter Horse Association
7- Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association
8- Connecticut Quarter Horse Association
9- Ohio-Michigan-Indiana Quarter Horse Association
10- Ontario Quarter Horse Association
During the award ceremonies, corporate sponsors threw t-shirts and prizes into the crowd, and special drawings were held for prizes. Alll NYATT exhibitors received a specially-designed Congress NYATT belt buckle. The top nine teams received medallions while all members of the winning teams received the Congress and NSBA bronze trophies.
NSBA Foundation’s Envelope Challenge Drawing Held
The 2024 Congress National Youth Activity Team Tournament Awards Ceremony once again finished the night by the awarding of a two-horse trailer donated by 4 Star Trailers as part of the NSBA Foundation’s Susan Scott Memorial Fund Scholarship. The scholarship is part of the NSBA Foundation's Youth of the Year award, which is presented annually to recognize youth for exemplary community service. Awarded to a randomly drawn donor through the “Envelope Challenge,” this year’s fundraising efforts raised nearly $60,000.
However, an extraordinary act of generosity from this year’s trailer recipient, Devon Martin, of Newport Beach, California, occurred when she donated the trailer back to the NSBA Foundation, providing the opportunity to raise addition funds for the Susan Scott Memorial Fund and the Youth of the Year Award.
Thanks to the many generous donations of NSBA Foundation donors, this year's Envelope Challenge raised will raise nearly $100,000 for the Youth of the Year award! Thank you to everyone who participated!
Nominations for the 2024 Youth of the Year will open on February 1, 2025. Help the NSBA Youth to promote doing good in the neighborhood and encourage a youth in your life to apply.
Learn more here: https://bit.ly/479Od8v
Photo courtesy of Shane Rux Photography.
Congress Futurity, Stakes Champions
Teams of a different kind, between horses and riders, also had a successful day on Sunday in the Congress show arenas.
Bill Cox realized a long-time dream to win the Congress aboard No Doubt I M Sleepn, winning the Limited division of the Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure Futurity. The duo won the NSBA as well as the Southern Belle and Super Sires portion of the class, earning almost $7,000. “I have been reserve at the Congress before, but we’ve never won here,” he said.
Bill showed a horse that he bred and raised to win out of his decorated show mare, Sleep Machine, and by No Doubt Im Lazy. “It’s special because we were lucky when we got his mother, Candice, because she won just about everything she went in, and then to turn around and have her has our broodmare and have her turning out these great babies, it’s really special. We raised Candice, too. We had purchased Candice’s dam from R11, so George is the third generation to be in our program.”
Bill noted that George will get to stay around. “He will be my Select and Non-Pro horse next year, and he’s going to the AQHA World Show with Dillon Vaughn showing him,” he said.
“George was pretty automatic,” he said. “Gil (Galyean) and Dillon (Vaughn) have done a great job with him. I haven’t got to show him very much and when I was out there practicing, I wasn’t sure we were ready, but it turned out alright.”
Katie Cochran showed If I Were A Boy to win the Two Year Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Stakes for owner Morgan Miller.
“She doesn’t do one thing wrong,” Katie said of the gray mare is known as Celeste and is by Allocate Your Assets and out of IE Malibu Barbie. “She’s come along really well. It’s just easy for her – she trains me, I don’t train her.
“She’s so naturally talented that I just stay out of her way and she teaches me. I show it to her and she learns. The first time we’ve shown her was here at the Congress in the Maiden class, and we made it back to the Open and Limited finals. I loved everything about our finals today.
“I bought her earlier this year,” Morgan said. “Katie called me and told me that I had to have this one. She’s been great. In her go today, she was so consistent, so soft and is so good in her head and neck. To me she had all of that put together perfect.
“She is showing in the Maiden Two Year Old class, and I will be showing her in the Non-Pro here. She is also going to the AQHA World Show to show in the Level 1 Green Hunter Under Saddle,” Morgan said.
Morgan has been having quite the show at the 2024 All American Quarter Horse Congress. “It’s been an amazing show,” Morgan said. “Celeste just won the Two Year Old Hunter Under Saddle, my other horse won the Level 2 Senior Western Riding and I won the Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line and my three year old Western Pleasure horse won the Level 1 Green Western Pleasure with Andy Cochran.”
Nick Weiss and My Momma Made Me were named the champions in the Two Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure Stakes. “I bought her from Marilyn Caliendo,” Nick said. ‘She is a full double AQHA and APHA horse, so we can show both in the AQHA and APHA and color futurities.
“I started her, and then sent her to Andy Cochran to put the finishing touches on her. She’s been great. Our go in the finals was really good, I could put her where I wanted and she didn’t get bothered by traffic or anything.”
The All American Quarter Horse Congress continues through October 27. To view the show schedule, live feed or complete show results, please visit the All American Quarter Horse Congress website of the Horse Show Tracker app.
