“I’ve always been very patriotic, and I wanted to have something to display that. One day, I thought it might be nice to put a flag on the back of my shirt, and then it grew from there.”

First-time AQHA Youth World competitor, Carley Rutledge, rode her horse, VS Born To Be Good, to win the first-ever 13 and Under Trail held here at the AQHA Youth World Show.

“She expects me to have the correct foot every time and to plus that maneuver and not just do an average maneuver. She always pushes me to go that next step to be better than I was the year before, or even a show before. Even today, she critiqued my finals pattern. But that’s what we love about Jennifer and Judd. They never let mediocre slide.”

“I thought it was a really nice experience for people who are younger and can’t quite compete against the older and more experienced riders,” Issie says.

“It was a very emotional day from start to finish, because this horse has my whole heart. Going into the finals, I knew it would be our last Horsemanship finals at our last Youth World together, so it was an emotional day. I think I cried five times before the class!”

It’s fairly safe to assume that Jo Jo Roberson and Greedy Ghost are the first team to make it back to both the 14-18 Showmanship Finals AND Ranch Riding Finals at the same Youth World Show. That’s an incredible feat in an of itself. Even more, Jo Jo and “Greedy” are relatively new to the Showmanship game, so they were also eligible for the L2 Showmanship class that took place last night. After 161 runs and a class that go over at midnight, Jo Jo and Greedy were named the L2 Showmanship Champions!

“It was really fun, because I had an opportunity to beat myself. One is an older horse. The first horse I rode is 22, and the second horse is 11 years old.”

Rhett was bred by Susan Clune, who was Mackenzie’s former trainer and who passed away a few years ago. Several of Susan’s fellow trainers in the arena thought they could feel her presence as her former student and homebred horse won their first World title as a team.

“She’s so talented and pretty to watch. I just have to sit there and put her in the right spots. She floats over the poles and is super smooth. She’s such a good loper and I think that really helps.”