Defending Champion Kelsey Jung Wins Again in 14-18 Horsemanship at 2013 AjPHA Youth World Championship Show
The 2012 AjPHA 14-18 Horsemanship World Champion returned to Fort Worth to defend her title and pulled out an impressive performance to take the top spot again this year. With three firsts and two seconds Kelsey Jung and A Painted Selection swept the field of 60 tough competitors to win the class this evening.
The Reserve Champion in the class was Jenni Hansen riding Inthesweetshop. Third place was Brogan Horton riding Zippos Paycheck. Judges for the class this evening were Holly Hover, Brad Kearns, Stephanie Lynn, Tom McBeath, and Tracy Willis. The Intermediate Champion in the class was Jenni Hansen and the Reserve Intermediate Champion was Hannah Stephens riding Sensational Hannah.
In addition to her World Championship title this evening Jung and “Sam” also received a Reserve World Championship in 14-18 Equitation and top ten finishes in Showmanship and Western Riding. Jung and Sam have been a team for the past nine years.
“I’ve had him since he was two,” she says. “My grandma used to ride him, and she stopped because my grandpa got sick. She told me I could have him, so I started showing him. He was going to be my novice horse, and then he ended up being so much more than we expected.”
Jung and Sam will be heading to the AQHYA World Show in Oklahoma City in just a few months to represent the state of Utah. They will be competing in Horsemanship, Showmanship, Western Riding, Trail, and Equitation.
In order to tackle a tough finals pattern this evening with multiple square corners at the extended trot, a 630 turn to the left, and a 450 turn to the right, Jung relied on her tried and true method of balancing attack with the right amount of precision.
“I went in there knowing that everyone was going to trot up and stop and go right into their spin,” she says. “I went in there knowing I needed to stop and let him take a couple of steps and find his feet, so I could get a nice lope transition like the pattern calls for. He did that really well, better than I expected.”
“I knew that I had to get good extended trot corners. I think that’s tough, because you’re going fast and all of a sudden you have to turn one way and then the other way.”
With one more year in the 14-18 division could we be looking at a hat trick for Jung in 2014? You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out…
14-18 Horsemanship
1-A Painted Selection/Kelsey Jung
2-Inthesweetshop/Jenni Hansen
3-Zippos Paycheck/Brogan Horton
4-Ill Be Sensational/Leroy Poignant
5-Can You Dig It/Morgan Matzdorff
14-18 Horsemanship (Intermediate)
1-Inthesweetshop/Jenni Hansen
2-Sensational Hannah/Hannah Stephens
3-Chasinthesensation/
4-My Cowboy Cadillac/Sarah Orsak
5-Total Assets/Kristina Hermanson
