Sydney Scheckel and A Perfect Pleasure Win First Gold Trophy in AQHYA Showmanship

By: Brittany Bevis

15 very brave qualifiers entered the pen this afternoon for the Showmanship Finals to tackle what was dubbed by many as the “Showmanship Pattern of Insanity.” The full two-minute long pattern included everything but the kitchen sink and only one cone by which to judge marks. Trot to walk transitions, walk to trot transitions, a back, square corners, blind corners, and multiple set ups were among the maneuvers that challenged competitors.

In the end, it was Sydney Scheckel who rose to the occasion with her horse, A Perfect Pleasure, to claim the World Champion title  with a near perfect score of 297. The highest possible score for a Showmanship pattern is 300. We wondered what ran through Sydney’s mind when she saw the tough finals pattern for the first time.

“I kind of swallowed hard and was like ok… It was really interesting to me. My horse and I have a great bond, so we can break down to those walks so easily. It was the pattern for us. Each time I practiced, I felt so confident.”

“Something else I really showed off was my trot up straight to the judge. I didn’t leave a whole lot of room between us. Also, she’s a great backer. Something I really wanted to get right was keeping her head, neck, and body as straight as it could be. Also, I wanted to finish all my turns and make everything as precise as I could.”

Sydney has been competing with “Pippi” for the past five years in the youth division. The pair has a previous Reserve World Champion title in Showmanship, but this is their first gold trophy. To commemorate the special occasion, Sydney couldn’t resist doing her own special version of a victory lap…

“Honestly, I’ve wanted to do that ever since I started coming to the Youth World,” she says. “I said when I got my first gold trophy I was going to do a victory lap!”

Showmanship:

1- A Perfect Pleasure/Sydney Scheckel

2- Zips Bossy Chip/Ellexxah Maxwell

3- Javah Mon/Paige Wacker

4- A New Dimension/Kathryn Bunting

5- Always Zipped/Taylor Doescher

6- Rising Shadow/Lauren Lloyd (first in level 2)

7- Invested Pine Asset/Jillian Stopperich (13 and under winner)

8- Danielle Paulson/Ima Blazing Rosita

9- All But Sudden/Livvie Van Lanen

10- What We Do Best/Elizabeth Forney