Madison Thiel and HF Lazy Lopin Diva Win First World Championship in Showmanship

By: Brittany Bevis

The second largest class here at the 2014 AQHYA World Show was Showmanship with a whopping 190 entries. However, there could only be one World Champion. In the end, 17-year-old Madison Thiel claimed the title at the lead of HF Lazy Lopin Diva.

“It’s really indescribable right now,” she says. “It hasn’t even set in. It’s incredible. All my hard work really paid off. I went in there, and I put everything down that I could. It was great.”

In a style that has become familiar to the Youth World Show year after year, the Showmanship Finals pattern utilized only one cone and required competitors to use plenty of arena space. A 720 degree turn, trot to walk transition, two setups, and a long back to the judge were a few of the highlights.

“I did my walk to long trot, and those were very long lines,” she says. “I felt like I was trotting forever. When I did my turn and trot to my setup, with a brief inspection, I turned around and she was set up. I really, really liked that. When we walked up past the judge to do our back up, she backed to the judge amazing. It felt really good to hear the crowd.”

Not only did Thiel hear the crowd, she was listening for sounds of approval from her trainer Becky Schooler.

“It kind of comforts me and sets me on the ground,” she says. “When I turned around and set up, Becky yelled ‘Yeah!’ I thought, ‘Everything is ok.’ She’s there, I’m here, and everything is fine.”

“It’s hard because Diva has her own style, and she wants to do her own thing. You have to work with her, not against her.”

For this afternoon’s performance, it certainly looked as if Thiel and Diva were working together as a team in perfect harmony. The pair also made it to the Top 20 in Horsemanship and competed in Performance Halter Mares here at the Youth World. Be sure to watch for this team at the upcoming All American Quarter Horse Congress.

Showmanship-

1-Madison Thiel/HF Lazy Lopin Diva

2-Bailey Anderson/Zippos Kat Man Do

3-Courtney Allen/Good As Expected

4-Jillian Stopperich/Invested Pine Asset

5-Kelsey Jung/No Boundary

6-Livvie Van Lanen/All But Sudden

7-Graysen Stroud/Phat Asset

8-Sydney Sheckel/A Perfect Pleasure

9-Madison Anger/Potential Dooplicity

10-Marcus Hanson/Macs Good N Tough