Sydney Sargent and Nya Kearns Win AQHA Youth World Equitation
By: Brittany Bevis
Two Equitation World Champions were crowned this evening at the 2019 AQHA Youth World Show. First, Sydney Sargent rode Lazy Lopin Guy to win her first Youth World title in 13 and Under Equitation.
As the child of a horse trainer, 14-year-old Sydney has been coming to the Youth World since 2016. “It’s been a journey,” she says. However, she’s only been partnered with “Tyler” for two years. She describes the adorable gelding as quite the character.
“He likes to be in everything. He’s very social, and he eats all the time. He’s been getting mints all week, but his favorite is Pop Tarts. They tend to make him a little feisty though; but, since it’s the end of the show, he can have all the Pop Tarts he wants!”
Assisting Sydney with preparations for today’s class were her mother and father, Cheryllee and Bennie Sargent, and trainers, Robin and Jenny Frid. With all of that horse knowledge and experience in her corner, Sydney was well-prepared to tackle tonight’s difficult finals pattern. But, after a rocky warm-up this morning, Sydney needed all the confidence she could get.
“It was a long pattern, and it was very complex. I thought my trot figure eight circles were good. But, this morning he wasn’t great at the hand gallop. We had a series of unfortunate events that caused me to end up in the dirt, but it was well worth it for today. He did it wonderfully.”
“I tried to ride the pattern larger than what it was shown and what others had done. The center was key. It was where you started and stopped the pattern, and you probably crossed the center five or six times. My coach told me that the center can’t be 50 feet; it has to be a direct point.”
In addition to winning her first golden globe, Sydney also placed fifth in Hunter Under Saddle, seventh in Horsemanship, and was a finalist in Showmanship and Performance Halter.
The Reserve Champion was Jayna Lagace with Huntin Hotty Tottys. Third was Kyrah Bowker with Dress Western Gold. Fourth was Cheyenne Augsburger with Huntin For Candy.
Nya Kearns won her second World Championship title in 14-18 Equitation, this time with BMQ Stop For Traffic. We chatted with Nya just the other day when she was named the World Champion in Horsemanship with Never Sudden. Click here to read her interview.
The Reserve Champion was Sophia Bukowick with King Of The Blue Sky. Third was Alexia Tordoff with Too Blazin Cool. Fourth was Gracie Himes with Essentially Good. Fifth was Alexa Black with Big Country Kruzer.
