Klay McDowall Rides Certainly A Blaze to First World Championship Title in Horsemanship

By: Brittany Bevis

It was a gentleman who showed the ladies how to get it done tonight in the Horsemanship Finals at the 2014 AQHYA World Championship Show. 16-year-old Klay McDowall piloted Certainly A Blaze through a complex pattern with precision, accuracy, and measured attack.

This team hasn’t been together for very long. McDowall started showing “Bruce” just after the Youth World Show this time last year.

“He came to me not knowing a lot about anything, really,” McDowall says. “He had parts of all the classes, but he didn’t know how to put it all together, so this is very exciting for us.”

“He is amazing. As soon as we get him right where he needs to be, he stays there no matter how long it is until we show.”

Thus far at the Youth World Show, McDowall and Bruce placed third in Western Riding and qualified for the Trail Finals that will take place tomorrow morning. Although he thoroughly enjoys competing in all classes, McDowall’s favorite, by far, is Horsemanship.

“Since I can remember, I’ve wanted to win the Horsemanship,” he says. “All the other classes are very fun, but horsemanship is the most fun for me. I think it’s the most difficult class, because you need to have a connection with your horse that other classes don’t require.”

McDowall’s enthusiasm for the event can sometimes cause complications. That’s where his father and horse trainer, Kelly McDowall, steps in to help take things down a notch.

“I’ve been showing horses since forever,” McDowall says. “My dad is a horse trainer, so I’ve been on horses as long as I can remember. I get very excited about horsemanship. With this pattern, I had to make sure that I went fast enough to be able to show off my horse and I but slow enough that I could avoid any major mistakes. Before I go in, Dad has to make sure I’m calm and thinking through what I need to do. That’s exactly what he did.”

Adding to his excitement, McDowall celebrated his sixteenth birthday yesterday. He couldn’t imagine recieving a better birthday present than a golden globe in his favorite event.

McDowall has a few people he’d like to thank, namely his father and mother for their continuous support, his friends for always being there when he needed them most, and Charlie Cole and Jason Martin for allowing him the opportunity to own such an amazing horse.
Congratulations Klay and Happy Birthday!

Horsemanship–

1-Klay McDowall/Certainly A Blaze

2-Bailey Anderson/Zippos Kat Man Do

3-Keaton Crawford/My Ace Is Hot

4-All But Sudden/Livvie Van Lanen

5-Consider Duplicated/Avery Ellis

6-Don’tSkipMyGoodImage/Graceon Ehrman

7-Kelsey Jung/No Boundary

8-Cool To Be Invited/Jamie Cook

9-One Classy Gucci/Sydnee Gemar

10-TH It’s Only Money/Lexi Kim