Morning Winners at NSBA World Show Include Mullen, Scharf, and Ratliff

By: Brittany Bevis

Multiple World Champions have already been named at the 2015 NSBA World Championship Show today, and we were able to catch up with a few to get their reactions to the exciting news!

Killian Mullen rode her giant 17.2 hand gelding Certifiably Good to win the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle. Mullen and “Austin” have been a team for two years now, and they currently compete under the guidance of Carmen and Nick Mayabb.

Last year at the NSBA World Show, Mullen and Austin placed fourth in the two-year-old division of the class. This year, Austin’s consistency coupled with his impressive size and stride helped the pair claim the World Champion spot.

“He was really easy to get going out there today,” she says. “He’s a giant, but he’s really good minded. Hunter Under Saddle is my favorite class. It feels really natural to me, and I like the forward pace.”

Later on in the show, Austin will return with trainer Carmen in the irons for the open division of the class. Mullen plans to show her other horse, More To Zip, in Trail.

Over in the Mustang Arena, Kacie Scharf rode her horse, A Movin Machine, to win the Novice Youth Trail. This team currently competes under the guidance of Chad Evans and just came off a very successful AQHA Youth World Show in Oklahoma City.

Today’s Tim Kimura pattern was a bit complex, but Scharf was up for the challenge. “I didn’t like the back through chute, because there were flowers right there and both of the horses in front of me picked them up! I did like the last lope-over, because it wasn’t the normal three stride lope. You did four strides and then five strides, which is kind of different, so I liked that.”

Scharf competes in multiple all-around events with “Benny,” but she feels Trail is perfectly suited for keeping his active mind in check. “It keeps his mind on something,” she says. “He likes it, and I like how every pattern is different. It can change a lot depending on the day.”

The second place team in the class was Emma Brown with Some Hot Potential. Placing third was Victoria Hinton with Southwestern Heat. Fourth was Cameron Crenwelge with Too Hot To Frisk. Fifth was Carlee Purcell with Only In Hollywood.

Over at Highpoint Performance Horses, Shelby Ratliff rode her six-year-old gelding, Willy Has Potential, to a win in the Maturity Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle class. Ratliff and her horse have been a team since the Quarter Horse Congress last year. Now that they have almost a full year of competition under their belts, Ratliff is confident they’re becoming a solid team.

“I’ve shown him a lot this year, so I feel like we know each other and are getting to become a team. Beth [Case] tells me to just sit there and let him do his thing, because he knows his job. They made us trot forever, so I personally thought I was going to die, but he was really good!

Ratliff has been coming to the NSBA World Show since she was a youth competitor and has multiple wins, but this is her first with this horse. She’ll be aiming for a second title with Willy Has Potential later today in the BCF 4-6-Year-Old Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle. This pair plans to compete in seven different classes this week, but make no mistake, the only event they show in is Hunter Under Saddle.

“Everybody wants me to do Equitation, but I DO NOT equitate! I like the more upbeat, faster moving horses better.”

Congratulations to Killian Mullen, Kacie Scharf, and Shelby Ratlliff on their big wins this morning!