The Ford Truck Arena was rocking on Wednesday night as the CINCH Horsemanship Invitational took over the arena, bringing a pre-class party and some rocking tunes to set the mood for some serious competition and serious fun.
Nationally ranked Horsemanship exhibitors from across the country were formally invited to compete against one another for a purse of $15,500 in the event. From the 48 entries in the preliminary round, a group of 15 exhibitors with the highest scores advanced to the finals.
The exhibitors had ten minutes to work through a pattern presented to them that evening, one of four patterns that they had previously seen as possibilities. Prior to the finals, CINCH sponsored a party in the mezzanine for attendees to gear up for the event.
After the dust had settled, Giorgia Medows bested the competition with her horse, Son Of A Sudden, earning the $3,000 first place prize for herself and a $1,250 Trainer Bonus for her trainer, Blake Weis.
“When I saw the pattern, I was really excited because it was my favorite of the four patterns we were given,” Giorgia said. “I really enjoyed trotting in with no stirrups and then doing an extended lope around to set the tone. I was a little bit nervous because last year I set up on the wrong side of the cone, so I wanted to be doubly sure I was doing it right. My horse was so great every stride, and listened really well even with all the excitement and energy in the crowd.”
Giorgia will be a senior at Texas Christian University majoring in finance with real estate, and is on the equestrian team. “I’ve done this format before, but we have twice as long to prepare for the pattern, so it’s a little different. It is so much fun to do.”
Giorgia and her horse are specialists in Horsemanship, although her schedule has been limited due to college commitments. “We’ve been able to show at the Congress last fall and the Premier. I have to get back to school pretty quick. I show here on Saturday and my first team meeting at college is on Sunday.”
Ladies And Their Roans Take Over Senior Western Riding
No one could catch the scores set by two ladies and their roan horses in Senior Western Riding on Wednesday morning. Deanna Searles guided KM Flat Out The Best to win the Open division of the class, scoring a 247.5 for owner Susan Johns, while Shannon Curl Holbin showed Get In Line Behind to win the Limited Rider division of the class for owner Haley Purkapile with a 239.5.
“Lily just has that beautiful front leg and is just so sweet,” Deanna said. “The Senior Western Riding pattern here at the NSBA World Show is unique because of the stage in the middle of the pen. It’s a long pattern and the horse has to listen to you because it’s not one of the normal Western Riding patterns. I ride kind of slow and you can’t ride this pattern slow. So I sent her, and I stayed with her. She was fun to ride today, and I think the judges saw that.”
Shannon Curl-Holbin had never done the NSBA World Show Senior Western Riding pattern before. “It feels like you’re out there for about ten minutes,” she laughed.
“I had to jog the pattern three times to not get lost on it. Because it’s not one of the usual patterns the horses don’t really know where they’re going so they have to listen to you. This was really free and soft, just loping around the course, and you just take your time getting there.”
Second Class, Second World Title for Shannon Curl-Holbin
Curl Holbin Adds Second Championship Of The Day In 3 Year Old Ltd Open Western Pleasure
Shannon Curl-Holbin had a very busy morning, coming back immediately after the Western Riding to show in the Three Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure. She rode Dark Lady to an NSBA world championship in the class for owner Haley Purkapile.
“I think we could just load up and go home now because it will be hard to top this,” laughed Shannon. “We’ve been on the road all summer, and she has just gotten stronger and is really starting to come together.
“She’s always right there with me. Her ears are always up, so much that you think something is going to happen, but that’s just how she is, she looks at everything. She has a lot of ring presence.”
New Name But Same Winning Game
Hillary Timchak may have changed her name, but she has kept her winning tradition going with a world championship in Amateur Western Pleasure with Aint Nothn To It. “We call her Irene. She’s by Machine Made and out of Shes Immortal, who is Line Up Behind’s dam,” Hillary said.
“We raised her. She fit really well with Charles and Angie Cannizzaro’s program and with Brian Ale, and they’ve done a great job with her. She’s beautiful on or off the rail, and I was able to show her off both of those ways. The first direction it was kind of crowded and I showed her off the rail a bit, and on the reverse we found a nice spot on the rail.
“It’s really a cool thing to get to raise the horses up and watch them got through so many phases. This filly went through a really gangly phase and we weren’t even sure she was going to be a pleasure horse, but then she stepped up and wanted to do it.”
Sara Bankord Is Riding The Ride
Sara Bankord knows how to pick the horses she leases. She leased SheThinksMyFactorsSexy and competed in the Color Breeders Championship Futurity Three Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle, and came out the futurity champion.
“I won the Showmanship on his brother the other day, and Susan Demeo owns both of them,” Sara said. “She has the coolest horses, and I’m going to ride this ride as long as it lasts!
“Nicole Dalton, who owns The Wow Factor, started her, and then the Gillespies had her really well prepared for me. This was my best ride yet with her. She doesn’t have the same buttons as my other horse, but riding her is like riding on a cloud. She is very sweet, and a lot of fun to be around.
“I had a blast showing her, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to show her.”
Class In Session With Beckey Schooler
Shop Class and Beckey Schooler were named the Breeders Championship Futurity champions in the Four To Six Year Old Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle. Beckey showed the Mechanic colt for Lexie Reger.
“Lexie bought Rusty from Jenny Burton when he was two years old, and she had been showing him locally,” Becky said. “She brought him to me in April, and I liked him the first day I worked with him. He’s really fun to show. It’s effortless for him. He trots well and lopes even better. He’s one of those horses that you can pitch away and he just takes you with him.
“Between our clients and us, this horse show is just a dream.”
Madonna and RJ King Pick Up The Win
Never Have I Ever has won many accolades in her short six years of life, but she added another in winning the Breeders Championship Futurity Four To Six Year Old Open Western Pleasure with RJ King, showing for owner Kent Ray Taylor.
“We’ve been working with Madonna for over a year now,” RJ said. “This is her first year as a senior horse, and we went out with a bang in the BCF.
“I was kind of conservative when I showed her the other day, but today I kind of showed a little more bold and went for it and showed her off. She has so much ring presence, and you can show her on and off the rail. She is quite the princess, and she deserves to be.”
Super Freek Picks Up World Championship
Jamie English showed Super Freek for owner Kelly Smith win the NSBA world championship in the Three Year Old Open Hunter Under Saddle, adding to a long list of accomplishments for Roger.
“He won in Fort Worth, Venice, Ceorgia On My Mind, twice at Back To Berrien, the Big A and now here at the NSBA World Show,” Jamie said. “We started riding him as a two year old , and Jason told me he’s a freak, so the name stuck. He’s very easy. He let me get him shown, and he wanted to be a show horse today.
“Since we didn’t show him as a two year old, he’s still a Novice horse, so we’ll show in that. We’re still getting to know each other, but he’s getting more strong and mature, and knows his job. It’s really coming together for him.”
Other champions included Angela Fox showed her Two Year Old, Jungle Boook, to win the Breeders Championship Futurity Two Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle and the Two Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle, which showed concurrently.
To view complete show results, see the NSBA World Championship Show and Breeders Championship Futurity schedule or view the live video feed, please visit nsba.com. The NSBA World Championship Show and Breeders Championship Futurity continues through Sunday, August 20.
