First Time Showmanship Congress Champions Include Anne Oldfather and Lynn Campbell

By: Brittany Bevis

One of the most exciting things about Level 1 classes here at the Quarter Horse Congress is that, more often than not, most of the winners crowned are first time Champions. That means lots of happy tears and celebratory hugs.

First, Lynn Campbell led Consider Me Lazy to win Level 1 Select Showmanship. “Silas” is a beautiful, bay roan by Lazy Loper and out of Zippos Mr Goodbar that was born and raised at Campbell’s house. “I actually bought his mother, pregnant, here at the Congress. He’s five years old, and his registered name is Consider Me Lazy. We figured Uncle Silas from Duck Dynasty is very lazy, so that’s how he got his barn name.”

Campbell knew, from the moment that Silas hit the ground, that this horse was destined to become something special. “He came out quite handsome,” she says.

This team currently competes under the guidance of Valerie Kearns and has done so for several years. This is Campbell’s first time winning at the Congress. In today’s pattern, Campbell wanted to focus on proper presentation with an eye for the little things that add up to make a pattern greater than the sum of its parts.

“One of the most important things is presentation. It’s all about showmanship, so not only presenting the horse and having correct maneuvers, but also presenting yourself like a showman. It’s very important to have light contact, correct body position, straight lines, and accurate turns.”

“Honestly, my goal today was to plus my walk. I asked Valerie how I could do that. Being that it was our very first impression to the judge, I wanted it to be excellent. We worked on my body position, light steps, and how it’s a dance with your horse, which all goes back to showmanship.”

The Reserve Champion was Rhonda McCoy Pickersgill with I’m Suddenly Invited. Third was Carol Byrd with My Sign Is Vital. Fourth was Helen Rose with Goodbars Intuition. Fifth was Elizabeth Brown with Absolute Best Asset.

First-time Congress attendee, Anne Oldfather, was named the Congress Champion out of 156 entries in Level 1 14-18 Showmanship. Her partner for the class was One Exclusive Cookie.

Anne and “Cash” have been a team for three years this Thanksgiving. She’s 18 and he’s 9. For most of her career, Anne has competed in 4-H, and this is her first year showing at Quarter Horse shows.

“We were 15th in NYATT Showmanship yesterday, and that was huge for me. I’m just thrilled to be here. My trainers [Micah and Kristin Hansen] kept telling me that I was going to go out there and do the same thing that I did yesterday, and that’s just what I did.”

“I’ve worked so hard on his trot-offs, and his stops were really good. I’ve worked really hard on speeding up my pivots. His back is definitely his best feature. It’s his speciality that he loves.”

With a first year of AQHA competition filled with exciting new experiences, like competing at her first AQHA Youth World and first Quarter Horse Congress, Anne is very grateful and looking forward to the future. “I love it. I’ve had so much fun. It’s been an amazing experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

The Reserve Champion was Clare Swanson with Too Early For Sleep. Third was Nicole Griffo with Hez A Croud Pleaser. Fourth was Matthew Siefker with Grace Zipsintherein. Fifth was Ashley Yoder with Pretty and Good.