Friday Evening Winners at 2015 NSBA World Show Include Stewart, Dowdy, Martin, Love, Hokana, Goldstein, Thiesen, and Roberts

By: Brittany Bevis

A number of NSBA World Champions were named this afternoon/evening at the 2015 NSBA World Championship Show. Jamie Dowdy showed It’s A Southern Thing to win Junior Western Riding. In Senior Western Riding, Jason Martin rode Heavenly Mac to the win.

Lauren Love and Wearin Only Moonlite were named the Champions in Amateur Horsemanship. Brook Hokana and Ima Blond Investment won the Color Non Pro Horsemanship class.

Over in the Hunter Under Saddle pen, Sara Goldstein and Sensational Asset won the Maturity Intermediate Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle. Bobbi Theisen and Wow The Crowd were named the Champions in the Color Non Pro 3-6-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle. Alyse Roberts and Justin Beamer were named the Champions in 3-Year-Old Open Color Hunter Under Saddle.

Lisa Stewart rode her 97′ model gelding, Touched By TNT, to win their first NSBA World Championship in 50 and Over Horsemanship. “Joey” has been competing in the show ring for quite some time, but Stewart and Joey have only been a pair for five years.

“He is by far the best horse that I’ve ever had,” Stewart says. “He is incredible, and I feel very fortunate to be able to ride him.”

Stewart and Joey currently compete under the guidance of Will and Elizabeth Knabenshue and have for the past 11 years. “They’ve put up with me for a long time!” Stewart jokes.

Last year, Stewart and Joey placed third in 50 and Over Horsemanship and came in Reserve in 50 and Over Equitation, but this is their first NSBA World Champion title. After the NSBA World Show is complete, they will head to Amarillo for the Select World Show. We wondered if today’s big win gives her a boost of confidence going into the event, or if it adds extra pressure…

“It’s a catch 22, I’m learning, because being at the top is kind of new to me,” she says. “You do feel certain pressures that maybe you didn’t feel before. I was third there last year, so I would like to go back and do equally as well. Then, there is the other part of me that’s saying just enjoy the journey and my horse and be grateful that I’m there.”

In order to be named the World Champions in today’s class, Stewart and Joey had to tackle a complex pattern with multiple maneuvers including two lead changes, spins, square corners, and an extended lope circle.

“It was a really good pattern, because it required a lot of different transitions,” she says. “When he came across the center of the arena and changed leads right in front of the judge, he really nailed that. We had planned out in the arena where each maneuver would be, and I was fortunate that I could make that happen. I think that was probably key in this pattern.”

In the Color Non Pro Western Pleasure, Kili Crawford repeated her win from earlier this week by being named the World Champion with Chasing A Dream, aka “Skittles.” Since we chatted with Crawford the other day, this evening, we spoke with the Reserve Champion, Shawn Wiggins with A Midnite Intuition. During the first class this morning, Wiggins’ trainer Randy Wilson rode “Ferrari” to win the Color Open Maturity Western Pleasure.

Ferrari is a four-year-old, homegrown mare that was raised by Wiggins and is out of her APHA mare, A Good Bodacious Gal. As a two-year-old, Ferrari was the Reserve Champion at the All American Quarter Horse Congress in the Coughlin 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure. Wiggins hasn’t had the opportunity to show this mare a lot this year, so she relied on expert guidance from her trainer before she entered the pen.

“I haven’t shown her a lot, so I was trying to remember everything that Randy told me,” Wiggins says. “He said to hold my angle, use my leg, and encourage her to go forward if she got too slow. I’ve been doing a lot of Horsemanship this year with my other horse, so that’s been helping with riding Ferarri.”

Congratulations to all of today’s winners!