Two Non-Pro exhibitors are experiencing their first NSBA World Championship Show, and they are making the most of every moment. The Way To Go caught up with Martha Mitchell, of Kerrville, Texas, and Chad Elam, of Oxford, Ohio, to talk about their time in Tulsa.
An Army Of Experiences
Martha Mitchell always dreamed of showing at the NSBA World Championship Show. “I grew up showing 4-H as a youth and did the Quarter Horse Congress Queen competition a couple of years for North Carolina. I couldn’t really afford to go to shows growing up because my mom was a single mom with three kids and worked her tail off ,” she said.
“I would go along with the trainers and work for them be able to ride and show. I did all the 4-H youth public speaking and actually won public speaking as a youth, and I did all the horse judging contests. So now it’s like a dream come true to get to do the actual horse piece of it.
“I am an Army reservist, and got my schooling paid for through the military. My showing came to an abrupt stop to go to school and when I went overseas with the Army,” she said. Today, she is a dentist with a practice in Kerrville, Texas. Her husband, Jim, is an oral surgeon. The couple have one son, William, who is five.
“I’ve wanted to get back into horses for a long time, but it just wasn’t the time or place, until we had a military move back to Texas. We settled in Kerrville, and I didn’t know anyone around who had horses. I had my horses at a smaller barn for about three years, and then one day I stumbled onto trainer Reid Thomas’s barn and it was sort of like this hidden gem that I didn’t even know was there all that time. I went out there and saw him and moved my horses there I think three days later.
“I’ve been with Reid for a couple of years, but I hadn’t been able to get here because we were trying to find the right horse. Finally, everything fell together last year, when we purchased my horse at the Congress and we’ve been able to show him this year during his three year old year.”
Martha is showing Extremely Custom in Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle and Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle events, and the Reid Thomas team's Miles McLean is competing in Open Hunter Under Saddle events. “He’s by Extremely Hot Chips. He did really well as a two year old and it’s been fun to get to show him this year,” she said. “We’ll see if he can become a nice All Arounder later.”
When asked what attracted her to coming to the NSBA World Championship Show, Martha noted her long-time goal. “I’ve always wanted to come here, but I never had the opportunity,” she said. “I had to line up everything else in my life first before it could happen, and it finally did. My experience here has been incredible. It’s a great facility and the people are so friendly. I’m really enjoying it.”
Martha plans to continue to show her three year old for the remainder of the year, including cheering him on in the 2024 Congress Three Year Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Futurity. “He’s an incredible mover, and we’re just working to achieve that in his classes,” she said. “He’ll be showing later in the NSBA World Show and the Congress. I fall in love with whatever horse Reid hands me, but my son is five years old and he's already fallen in love with this horse, so I probably won’t be allowed to sell him even if I get another one.”
Family Ties
Chad Elam had been around horses from a young age, but he never thought about competing with them until about a year and a half ago.
“I grew up with horses in Oxford, Ohio, when I was a kid. Trainer Karen Hornick’s brother, Mark Pennington, and I are best friends, and we used to do sale horses and team penning and things like that,” Chad explained. “We’d run to Knightstown and Rushville and all those sales around.”
The transition came due to family ties. “My kids said they wanted to start showing,” Chad said. “And since Mark was my friend, I went to see Karen.” The Elam family includes a two and a half year old, a four and a half year old, an eight and half year old and two sixteen year olds. “We all started showing together at the same time,” Chad explained.
The Elam’s first horse show was a large Open horse show in Ohio called Tough Enough To Wear Pink, which includes several $1,000 Added NSBA classes, so Chad was introduced to NSBA from his very first competition.
“Chad has really become interested in NSBA,” Karen said. “He’s really into riders and earnings and following them.”
“I’m having fun with it,” Chad said. “I love figuring out each horse. I’ve always enjoyed the horses, and once you meet everyone, they’re so friendly and fun to be around. We enjoy it as a family. There’s usually not a weekend that we’re not at a show somewhere.” The Elams did not bring their children with them to Tulsa, but have a had a postive experience. "It's been great here," Chad said. "We've really enjoyed the show."
The Elams had to put down a horse a few months ago, but they brought a horse they recently purchased, Made Sweet, to show at the 2024 NSBA World Championship Show. “She’s a three year old. We’ve only had her a few months, today was just her third time in the show pen,” Chad explained. “Karen and I show her in Three Year Old Open and Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure.”
Chad notes that he enjoys the younger horses. “I tend to like the younger projects,” he said. “I get bored and Karen tells me I have a short attention span. I like seeing and working with the different horses. I'm always telling her to give me something else to ride.”
Figuring things out, and following the numbers and analytics, come pretty naturally for Chad. His company manages the disposition and assets of companies that are shutting down, and is located in Oxford, Ohio. “I live ten minutes from where Karen grew up,” laughed Chad.
Karen and the Elams are leaving from the NSBA World Championship Show on Thursday and going to the Run For A Million in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they will be following Chad’s other equine passion: Reining. "I’ve been riding Reiners, and really enjoy them too,” Chad said.
In October, Made Sweet will be showing in Three Year Old Open and Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure events at the Quarter Horse Congress, and Made Sweet will become available for her next owner. “We’ve already got another one lined up for next year, so I’ll be excited to work on the next project,” Chad said.
The Way To Go welcomes these first-time exhibitors at the NSBA World Championship Show, and we wish both of them success!
The NSBA World Championship Show and Breeders Championship Futurity continues through Sunday, August 18. To view the complete show schedule, complete show results or view the live video feed during show hours, please visit nsba.com.
