Lindsey Whitehead and Skys Blue Sequel Soar to Working Hunter Win at 2014 AQHYA World

By: Brittany Bevis

Lindsey Whitehead and Skys Blue Sequel, aka “Simon,” soared to new heights with an impressive performance this morning to win the World Championship title in Working Hunter. According to Whitehead, Simon is one of the most unique horses she’s ever had the opportunity to ride.

“He has tons of personality,” she says. “He puts forth so much effort and will do whatever you ask, the second you ask it. Sometimes, he can have a playful attitude, which I like.”

Simon and Whitehead have been a team for three years this summer and currently compete under the guidance of Cindy Reddish and Linda Crothers. This is their first World Show trophy and last time attending the Youth World Show.

“It means a lot,” she says. “I came in obviously hopeful but with shy expectations. I didn’t want to get my hopes up that much. Last year was kind of rough for us. That was our first year together. This year, we gelled a lot more, came together as a team, and made it work.”

“When we went in the arena, he lit up. You could tell he was super laser-focused. He jumped every jump with amazing fuel. He was ready for it. I think he wanted this one as badly as I did.”

Coming up next, Whitehead will compete in the Hunter Hack Finals this afternoon. Tomorrow, she and Simon will try their best in the Hunt Seat Equitation Preliminaries. We wondered if Whitehead encounters any difficulty when switching between the high flying action of over fences classes to the more subtle performance necessary for an equitation class.

“It’s a pretty natural transition simply because he is just a really solid equitation horse,” she says. “I think all of the maneuvers that make him a solid equitation horse really help me in my jump courses, like shoulders in and haunch turns. It really gets him supple and laterally moving off my leg. He’s one of the best equitation horses I think I will ever ride.”

Working Hunter-

1-Skys Blue Sequel/Lindsey Whitehead

2-Executive Hotrodder/Nicholas Furlong

3-Its My Lucky Detail/Madison Eichstadt

4-Steady Spirit/Gentry Cherry

5-Stroke For Stroke/Mallory Myers