Hillary Roberts and Chrome On My Zipper Score 231.5 to Win AQHYA World Show Trail

By: Brittany Bevis

Tim “The Trail Man” Kimura certainly didn’t hold back when designing a very challenging Finals course for the 2014 AQHYA World Show this year. Almost an entire pattern worth of raised poles and quick transitions tripped up a few competitors, but Hillary Roberts and Chrome On My Zipper were able to perform a near flawless run scoring a 231.5 to win the World Championship title.

When looking at the final scores, Roberts and “Long John” were a full five points ahead of the rest of the field. Coming in Reserve was Taylor Brown with Just Hit Town. Rounding out the top three was Natalie Alcorn with Chocolates Hot Asset; they were also the first place Intermediate team.

Roberts and Long John have been a team for six years now. They currently compete under the guidance of Butch and Patty Campbell. Here at the Youth World Show, the pair made it back to the Top 20 in Horsemanship. Roberts will show her other horse, Whatscookingoodlookin, in the Western Pleasure Finals tomorrow afternoon.

Because this is Roberts’s last year in youth competition, and this was her last class with Long John at the Youth World Show, winning a World Championship title was a very emotional moment.

“This year has been really emotional,” she says. “Butch has had three back surgeries. It’s been hard and really stressful for all of us. The most important thing is that I wanted to do well for them this year. That’s what means the most to me about this. It’s my last youth year… on to amateur now.”

Roberts appreciated the demanding course that required both a high level of skill and precision.

“The pattern was very difficult,” she says. “I really liked the extended jog up to the gate. I thought that was fun and different. All of the trot-overs really forced the horses to pick up their feet and stay in the pattern. It forced my horse and I to have a lot of patience. You couldn’t focus too hard outside of the obstacle. You had to focus down, keep your head throughout the entire pattern, and do one obstacle at a time, which I liked a lot. I think it really exhibits a good trail horse if they can pick up their feet but also you can move them around through each maneuver.”

Her favorite maneuver was perhaps one of the most challenging raised obstacles.

“I really liked the gray, right lead lope-overs at the top of the pattern, because you really had to keep the horse tight and between your legs,” she says. “That was probably my favorite piece of the pattern. All of my lope-overs were really nice; that’s probably what I was happiest with.”

Trail-

1-Chrome On My Zipper/Hillary Roberts

2-Just Hit Town/Taylor Brown

3-Chocolates Hot Asset/Natalie Alcorn

4-Ima Tuff Barpasser/Elee McDaniel

5-PF Put It N Park/Jane Sutcliff

6-Triplicate Pleasure/Chelsea Sterling

7-Vinnys Poco Sam/Jessica McAllister

8-My Ace Is Hot/Keaton Crawford

9-Good For The Ladys/Bailey Cook

10-Chex Is The Choice/Elizabeth Niewojna