Brian Baker Wins First World Championship With No Doubting Me in Junior Western Pleasure

By: Brittany Bevis

It was the cap on an exceptional year and a big milestone for Brian Baker, in general. Brian rode No Doubting Me, aka “No No,” the horse he’s been winning with all year, to win his first World Championship title in Junior Western Pleasure for Sue Sancken.

Sadly, unlike at the Congress, when we had our enthusiastic award holders, Miss Sydnie Ochs is at school, but you can be certain she was watching on the live feed. At the Congress, No No won three Congress Championship titles- Junior Western Pleasure, Maturity Western Pleasure, 15-18 Western Pleasure, and was Reserve in NYATT Western Pleasure. What is it about this horse that the judges find so appealing?

“It’s just the raw talent that he has,” Brian says. “I always describe it as if you’re loping on a cloud.”

Brian has had No No from the very beginning after picking him out at the NSBA World Show Sale as a yearling. He knew there was promise, but did he have any indication that this horse’s career would turn out the way it has? “If it turned out the way I thought it would, it was going to be great.”

Making tonight’s win even more special, this is Brian’s first World Championship. He’s been competing at the World Show since 1998, and he’s been named a Reserve Champion in the past, but this is his first golden globe. And he was facing a nemesis of sorts in the form of a horse and rider team that they’ve shared the top two spots with all year- Aaron Moses and Its A Pretty Thing. Both gentlemen were sporting matching turquoise shirts this evening and shook hands before the final results were announced.

“Aaron and I have gone back and forth on these horses all year, since they were both two, really. I thought this class was just extremely competitive. When they started out calling 15th place and the horses started loping up to get their awards, you really realized how talented they all are.”