Monday brought more champions to the 2023 All American Quarter Horse Congress as the action continued in the Celeste Center and the Coliseum.
Final Small Fry Champions Named
The final Small Fry Congress champions were crowned on Monday as the slate of classes for this division were completed with English events.
In Small Fry Hunt Seat Equitation, Hayley Drummon showed in her very last class as a Small Fry and won the very last Small Fry class of the Congress. She piloted Extremely Shocking to win.
“I’ve had my horse since I was born and she’s 11 years old. We call her Deli Meat. We show the All Around, but we didn’t do the Western Pleasure because she’s a long-strided horse, but we did Horsemanship, Showmanship, Hunter Under Saddle and Hunt Seat Equitation.
“I liked everything about our pattern today. I really liked my two point and my extended part. I wasn’t too nervous about the pattern because we drilled on all kinds of things expecting it to be hard. So we were pretty prepared. I have a lot of help, my mom, my dad, my brother and my grandma, and Whitney Legacy. I have my horse at home. We had a good Congress. We were top ten in Small Fry Hunter Under Saddle and sixth in Trail.”
Whitney added “the work ethic that Hayley has is incredible. She was working on keeping her reins steady by having the bridle in her hands on the drive down here, and when she was worried about taking up her reins, her brother made her a little tray for her to practice that. It just goes to show that all that extra work pays off.”
In Small Fry Hunter Under Saddle, Hubbout A Dance and Sloane Weakly became back to back class champions, having won the same class in 2022.
When asked her secret, Sloane said “practice makes perfect,” although we think having a pretty good partner probably helped a little. “I like that Henry is sweet and silly, and he was really good in our class. I liked everything about our go in the finals.”
Sloane has been busy at this year’s Congress, where she also showed in Ranch Riding, Reining and all the Western events.
Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line
It was a new arena for Nancy Ditty but a similar result when she showed It Matters To Her in the Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line to a Congress championship for Ditty Up LLC. This was Nancy’s first year showing in the Hunter division, and she did so in style at the Congress in a beautiful Kevin Garcia customer suit.
“I’ve had Gucci since May, and I bought her from Cole and Liz Baker,” Nancy said. “I saw her move and it was an really an easy decision to buy her and try the Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line. We showed at the NSBA World Show and were reserve there. She’s by What Matters Most and out of Last Minute Investment.
“She’s just beautiful when she moves, just breathtaking. She has a ton of self-carriage and was very consistent today. I hope to be able to swing a leg over her later.”
Level 1 Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle Champions Named
Nancy Randall showed her horse Al Sleep On It to win the inaugural Level 1 Amateur Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle. It was a big step for this Amateur as well as for her horse.
“She’s just three years old. I bought her from Allie Littlefield as a two year old. She actually showed here as a Longe Liner. I’ve just been doing my own thing with her since I bought her. She’s actually come back from a surgery and rehab. She had some chips in her fetlock, but she came back great and I’ve been riding her, and here we are.
“Her barn name is Kennedy. She’s by Allocate Your Assets and out of a Too Sleepy To Zip mare. I just love her. She’s definitely a toddler. Next year we plan to show in the Novice Amateur division.
“The Congress is such an intimidating place. I showed last year for the first time in Longe Line, and I had a Longe Liner here this year too. But I’ve never ever rode here. I would not have come out here and shown without the Walk Trot class, because I’m definitely a Novice. It’s just my husband and me working with her – he watches me and I work her. We’re definitely do-it-yourselfers.”
In Youth Level 1 Hunter Under Saddle, it was VS Im So Fancy and Kennedy Rospert taking the Congress champion title.
“This is Charlotte,” Kennedy said. “We show both the English and Western classes. I have a lot of help with my horse from my parents to my trainer, Rick Whitesell. We show mostly at Quarter Horse and a few Paint shows, because she’s double-registered.
“This is my first time to show at the Congress, so this is pretty cool. We are going to show in Horsemanship and maybe another Hunter Under Saddle class.”
Several additional Congress champions were named in Equitation Over Fences, Hunter Hack and Working Hunter Under Saddle on Monday.
The 2023 All American Quarter Horse Congress continues through Sunday, October 22. To view complete show results, please visit the Horse Show Tracker or quarterhorsecongress.com. You can also view the show’s live video feed at quarterhorsecongress.com/livestream.
