Johnna Letchworth and Izzy A Jack Bar Win Congress Amateur Equitation
Johnna Letchworth receives a big hug from Gene Spagnola.
By: Brittany Bevis
A spur of the moment decision certainly worked out well for Johnna Letchworth at the 2014 All American Quarter Horse Congress. Typically, Letchworth and Izzy A Jack Bar compete in Horsemanship, but today they decided to try their hand/hoof at a slightly different event.
“We don’t usually do Equitation,” Letchworth says. “It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I do Horsemanship and have always done Horsemanship. I told Geno [Spagnola] I was sick of doing only one class, so I was going to start doing the Trail and Equitation again.”
“It was a lot of fun. I was a little worried it was going to be tight, but the pattern wasn’t set that small. He was really good. He was a little big when we went in there, but he listened and he didn’t do anything really wrong, so I was happy.”
Letchworth describes her horse “Isaiah” as a definite character who’s goofy but definitely lovable. They have been a team for the past seven years. “He’s interesting…” she says. “He’s goofy, but we love him. He’s taught me so much; it’s almost scary.”
Recently, Letchworth graduated from The University of South Carolina in August where she was a member of their equestrian team.
Reserve Congress Champion Kelley Mundrick
“It was by far the most incredible experience ever, and I hope that everyone gets a chance to do it,” she says. “It has taught me so much. I definitely channeled my collegiate friends in the hunt seat!”
“I really liked that hand gallop across the center, and my breakdown to the left diagonal from the left lead was pretty awesome. I was really excited that I nailed that. This is my first time showing Equitation here since I was a youth kid, so it’s kind of exciting.”
Earlier in the show, Letchworth and Isaiah placed third in Amateur Horsemanship. Today, the pair will compete in Amateur Trail.
Amateur Equitation-
1-Izzy A Jack Bar/Johnna Letchworth
2- Good Time Blazer/Kelley Mundrick
3- Southwestern Gunman/Whitney Walquist-Vicars
4-Chevrolatte/Brandy Baldwin-Bunting
5- Winkin For Chocolate/Maria Salazar
3rd place- Whitney Walquist-Vicars and Southwestern Gunman
