The 80/20 Goal, Balancing the Great With the Less-Than-Awesome: EC Blog With Kina Marie

EC Blog by: Kina Marie

Where in the world is it 85 degrees, beautifully landscaped with desert foliage against a backdrop of illuminated mountains, along with perfectly kept grounds? Yep, you guessed it, WestWorld of Scottsdale, Arizona. I’ve had the pleasure of just finishing the Arizona Fall Championship show at my all-time favorite horse show grounds, and I can’t wait to share my experiences with all of my fellow EquineChronicle.com readers.

WestWorld has a new, climate controlled arena that houses two show pens and one warm-up pen that’s conveniently nestled between the two show arenas. When the weather got a little too toasty for us exhibitors, spectators, and our equine partners, we had the chance to cool off and forget about the heat. It also made our 10 pounds of show clothing a little more bearable. This set-up was very convenient, because all of the classes were in one area and there was no confusion as to where you would be showing, which was nice for me considering I was showing both my old-faithful, “Speedy,” aka, Pass The Black Gold and my newbie, RRD Who Invited You, aka “Murphy.”

I decided that I would challenge myself at this show by adding additional and tougher classes because my next show is the Quarter Horse Congress. I’ve gotten very comfortable as a Novice Amateur, but sadly I’m moving into the Amateur division in most of my classes next year. What better way to throw myself into the mix then at this horse show. Speedy, however, was not enthused with this decision. The poor guy ended up showing in a total of 17 classes! Surprisingly, he was in good spirits on the last day. I’m assuming that’s because I kept the treats flowing and the back massages and baths frequent. The Novice Amateur classes had a big turn-out with 19 entries in the L1 Western Pleasure, 16 in Showmanship, as well as 16 in the Horsemanship.

Speedy and I did incredibly well in Western Pleasure, winning the Circuit Championship and winning unanimously under all three judges on the final day. I was especially pleased with that particular class win, because I had an entourage of friends and family there rooting for me. It was so nice to have my loved ones, and even my family dogs, Sparky and Daisy, there to root me on.

Out of the 17 classes Speedy and I showed in, we only had three classes with bobbles. Of course, you always remember those less-than- awesome moments, but I felt my percentage of good over not-so-good has grown increasingly better. Speedy also got to show off his supermodel looks in Amateur Performance Halter. He was shocked that he and his voluptuous belly didn’t win, as he told me he views himself as “equine perfection,” but he was happy to be in the placings.

I showed Murphy, my giant buckskin in the L2 Showmanship. The first pattern we did was excellent, but the pattern required stopping at the judge with hip alignment and then doing a quarter turn and setting up. Murphy did excellent. I, however, overshot it a bit and ended up much too close to the judge. The second pattern went much better, and we were happy to be in the placings. One particular pattern that stuck out to me as excellent was Amy Groefsema with her horse, My Dream Remembered.

Along with Circuit Championships in L1 Western Pleasure, Speedy and I ended up Circuit Champions in L1 Trail, Reserve Circuit Champions in L2 Western Pleasure as well as Reserve in L1 Hunt Seat Equitation. We had class wins in Horsemanship and Showmanship. We ended up Novice Amateur All-Around High-Point Champions and received a beautiful belt buckle from Scottsdale Western Wear, a Cinch Jeans gift certificate, and a gift certificate for a pair of Rod Patrick Boots.

Some of the show highlights were the exceptional awards, with circuit champions winning beautiful custom-made trophies and Top 5 Circuit Champions receiving embroidered jackets. I also appreciated the fun, and quite entertaining, events that took place, such as a Wine Race, Chap Race, and Bouncy Horse Race. The Exhibitor Party was very well organized with a very tasty Nacho Bar accompanied by free cocktails. Who doesn’t love that?

Overall, I was very impressed with this horse show in it’s entirety. It’s always a pleasure getting to hang out with my fellow horse crazy friends, and it was an excellent setting to meet new ones. Cheers to another successful horse show at the WestWorld!