Kamiah McGrath Scores 228 to Win First AQHA World Title in Western Riding with They Call Me Jake

By: Brittany Bevis

Today, 17-year-old Kamiah McGrath achieved a lifelong dream by winning her first World Championship title in Western Riding with a whopping score of 228 aboard her longtime partner, They Call Me Jake. Kamiah and “Jake” were the high scoring team coming into the finals with a 221, with a pattern she considered to be the best of her life. However, they were able to improve upon that performance by a big increase of seven points. “Personally, my prelims was the best I’d ever had, so going into the finals I didn’t think I could do any better,” she says.

Kamiah has been coming to the Youth World Show since 2008, and she’s always competed with Jake, who’s been in her family for the past fourteen years. “My mom bought him when he was a two-year-old, to be her horse, and he is sixteen now, so we’ve had him for 14 years. I really like showing in Western Ring, because I put the lead change on him myself, so it’s very rewarding when I do well.”

Kamiah relies on her mother for guidance as well as trainer, Robin Frid. “Most importantly, Robin wanted me to keep Jake’s stride big, because he’s a pretty mover. He also told me to sit back on my hips and ride it. My line was pretty good, except I was worried about my second lead change. I got a little nervous, but then I had to calm down, because I still had the rest of the pattern to go.”

Later on today, Kamiah and Jake will compete 60th in the working order in the Horsemanship preliminaries. They will also show in Western Pleasure, Trail, and Equitation. Kamiah will be debuting a new horse in her other favorite class, Showmanship, this year. “I’m going to show my new horse, Dark Envy. She’s eight years old, and I just started showing her in February. This is her first time here, so we’ll see how it goes!”

Coming in Reserve in Western Riding was Taylor Searles with Al Be Sweet On You. Third was Deanna Green with Blazinmytroublesaway. Fourth was Kacie Scharf with Always Clowningaround. Fifth was Natalia Devencenty with Chex is the Choice. Sixth was Shea Graham with Lets Talk ABout AOK. Seventh was Erin Griffin with Grey Asset. Eight was Klay McDowall with Certainly A Blaze. Ninth was Natalie Alcorn with Chocolates Hot Asset. Tenth was Marley Mainwaring with HF Tahnee Too.