Congress Showmanship Wins Go to Kacy Jo Philpot, Deanna Green, and Ashley Reichert

By: Brittany Bevis

After nearly six hours of intense Showmanship competition, we have three new Congress Champions. First, Kacy Jo Philpot led Macs Cruisin Chip to win Novice Youth Showmanship 13 and Under.

Kacy Jo and “Logan” are both 13 years old, and this is their first trip to the Congress. They currently compete under the guidance of Krista and Ashley Montgomery. They were unable to make the trip to this show, so fellow trainer Brad Kearns served as an excellent Congress coach. Kacy Jo was extremely excited about Logan’s performance today and was happy to point out what she felt were the best parts.

“He’s fun to do everything with, and he loves his job,” she says. “Today, I think the best part was probably the back up, and he’s really good at stopping from the trot also. He plants all his feet. Showmanship is my favorite class, because he’s really good at it, and we always have fun doing it together.”

Tomorrow, Kacy Jo and Logan will enter the pen one more time to compete in Novice Youth 13 and Under Western Pleasure. The Reserve Champion in the class was Grace Himes with Gota Lota Lace. Third place was Brooke Tubesing with Just My Cash. Fourth place was Isabella Weiler with Heza Potential Star. Fifth place was Elizabeth West with Chevrolatte.

In the Novice Youth Showmanship 14-18, Deanna Green and Blazinmytroublesaway claimed another Congress Champion title. The Reserve Champion was Mariah Pensyl with Ebony Only. Third place was Emma Phinney with Invite Me To Paris. Fourth place was Mcauley Ross with A Timely Version. Fifth place was Laska Anderson with Immortalised.

Amateur competitor Ashley Reichert was one busy lady this afternoon. First, she competed in the Cooper Arena in the Novice Amateur Showmanship Preliminaries and Finals. Then, she had to run over to the Coliseum to compete in Amateur Horsemanship. She got done with the Preliminaries just it time to run back over to the Cooper for the presentation of awards, which was a good thing, because she and Pine Chexed were named the Novice Amateur Showmanship Congress Champions.

“I’m not sure if we made the Amateur Horsemanship Finals or not. We just went!” says a breathless Ashley. “I was a little stressed because I was freaking out a little bit. First, they told me that I could go last [in Horsemanship], so I thought I had plenty of time. Then, they said I couldn’t go last, so [my trainer] Geno [Spagnola] said to just go in and do it. When I came out of showing, he came running over to me and said, ‘Run!’ I thought he meant to go run my horse more, like our pattern was bad. He meant for me to run over to the other pen for awards.”

Despite a close call and conflicting draws in two different pens, Ashley and “Ricky Bobby” were able to accept their first Congress Championship title as a team. “We call him R-Bob,” she says. “He’s the best, because you can say all kinds of things about him like ‘Shake and Bake, Ricky Bobby,’ ‘If you’re not first, you’re last,’ and ‘You’re on fire.’ He has all the best sayings.”

Ashley and R-Bob have been a team since December of last year. The first time Ashley showed at the Congress was in 2008, and she’s taken a few years off while attending college to compete on the University of South Carolina Equestrian Team.

“I haven’t shown for the past couple of years, because I’ve been in school,” she says. “I recently got to start showing again with Geno, and it’s been super great. We’ve been super successful. He’s been the best.”

The Reserve Champion in Novice Amateur Showmanship was Amelia Crites with JDS Rebel Force. Third place was Bibianne Houle with Obviously Hotrodders. Fourth place was Kelly Manner with Five A Clock Charlie. Fifth place was Angela Dillahunty with Won RV Ridin Machine.