The First Time’s A Charm

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase – just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Delores Kuhlwein

Lawran Whitney from Bremerton, Washington, topped the placings with MRP Classified Invite to win the Novice Amateur Showmanship last Friday at the 2024 APHA World Championship Show!

We caught up to Lawren, who rides with Baker Training Stable, to ask her about her first APHA World Show!

“I worked for APHA as an intern four years ago,” she explains, “so I did get to experience the world show, but this is the first time with a horse.”

Even though she’s well-versed in the horse show scene, especially as the second shooter for Topline Image, and for her own business, The Branded Creative, the nerves that plague most first-timers got to Lawran, too.

“I was pretty nervous in my first class, Hunt Seat Equitation,” she explains.  “We did okay in that, so I kind of settled down so I could be a little more serious and pay better attention.”

That confidence enabled her to secure the win in Showmanship, in addition to the fact that the class is her favorite. “It’s my best class, and my one class I know for sure I could do well in, so I was really excited about our placings,” she says.

Seven-year-old MRP Classified Invite, aka “Charlee,” also has a special bond with Lawran as a horse she’s owned since age two, and one Lawran broke out herself. They showed in Walk Trot together first, she explains.  “We went all the way down to Vegas ourselves to show (with my mom) and we were third overall in Zone 2, and the second show we were high point.”

After that, Lawran knew they were ready for a new challenge, so they moved up to Novice Amateur. In fact, 2024 marks the first year they’ve shown together at the lope, and Lawran says, “It has been pretty fun!”

Though nerves have always been an issue for her, she says she’s learning to accept whatever happens. “In Trail, since it was a new class for both of us, we both made a mistake, but I was really happy because we placed!”

The best part of her experience as a World Show rookie: “I love Texas, I love Fort Worth, and everybody has been friendly. Even though I was nervous in my first class, to be there showing in the John Justin, I knew I’d made it.”

 

Check out complete results from the class here: Results for APHA NSH1