Meet Our SOQHA Challenge and Madness Bloggers: Emma Brown and Eric Mendrysa

By: Brittany Bevis

It’s Madness! That’s right folks, the Southern Ohio Quarter Horse Association Challenge and Madness is set to kick off at the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, Ohio, over the next two weeks.

The Challenge will take place May 12-14 with judges Shawn Hays, John Briggs, Brendan Brown, Mike Weaver, Manita Defoor, Derek Hanscome, Mark Russell, and Nancy Renfro officiating. Then, the Madness will take place May 17-21 with judges Jeff Allen, Jessica Gilliam, Jennifer Leckey, Bruce Walquist, Brad Jewett, Clint Fullerton, Tim Abler, Gayle Lampinen, and Anne Laise officiating.

For more information about either of these events, visit www.MarkHarrellHorseShows.com. Also, stay tuned to EquineChronicle.com for complete show results as soon as they are released the Monday following each show, including results from our Equine Chronicle 3-Year-Old and Over Novice Horse Western Pleasure class that will take place next Friday at The Madness with a projected payback of $15,000 to the champion!

In the meantime, we’d like to introduce you to our bloggers that will be sharing their experiences from the SOQHA Challenge and Madness, Eric Mendrysa and Emma Brown. Also, Ericka Schaefer, our L1 Championship East blogger, will be back at it again, snapping around the ring photos. If you see any of these three competitors in Ohio, say hello, have them take your photo, and you might see it right here on EquineChronicle.com!

EC Blog Introduction

By: Eric Mendrysa

My name is Eric Mendrysa, and I’m an amateur all-around competitor and equine graphic designer. I recently retired my long time all- around horse, Only By Moonlight, and got a new teammate in January, Won Vital Code RV.

Levi is a 4-year-old, bay roan, gelding by VS Code Red. I train with John and Jill Briggs and Reid Thomas. I’m really looking forward to pursuing Levi’s junior and all-around amateur career, and he’s showing great signs of ability in all of my favorite classes.

I also have an entry for the Maiden Slot class here at the Madness, The Silver Foxx. This gelding is very special to me because his dam has always been one of my favorite broodmares, and she sadly passed away last month. Her name was GoodBars Glamourgirl. GG will be shown by Dave Archer, and I’m so excited to see this horse and all of the others in the class compete for the very first time!

By: Emma Brown

Hello, I’m Emma Brown, and I will be one of your bloggers for the The SOQHA Challenge and Madness horse shows in Wilmington, Ohio. I will be showing Some Hot Potential, aka “Brett,” in Trail, Horsemanship, Western Pleasure, Showmanship, and Halter.

I’m looking forward to both shows, because they’re always so enjoyable. I also love to see friends from all over the country. The classes are consistently enormous and more numbers yields more points!

I’m looking forward to keeping you updated on what’s happening at the Challenge and Madness! Stay tuned!