AjPHA Youth World Showmanship Winners Include Long, Rees, Hatcher, Pozzi, and Burgess

By: Brittany Bevis

Sparkles and megwatt smiles abounded during Showmanship classes today at the 2017 AjPHA Youth World Championship Show. First up, Olivia Long led Shelby Sensational to win Novice Youth 14-18 Showmanship. The Reserve Champion was Kaia Bowden with CNC Hez High Profile. Third was Marla Leone with A Smashing Sensation.

Winning the Novice Youth 13 and Under Showmanship was Avery Rees with Miss Mesmerized. The Reserve Champion was Kendal Fellegy with Fancy Sneakers. Third was Kimber Cobbs with Whatcha Expect. Fourth was Sydney Replogle with Who Painted Me. Fifth was Machaela Cobler with Invest in Rock N Roll.

This is 14-year-old Avery’s third World Show with her horse, “Mandy,” but her first with a new horse training team. Over the past few horse shows, she’s had to absorb a lot of information in order to prepare for her Youth World debut as part of the Simons Show Horses Team.

“I’ve had to redo everything!” she says. “It’s been a lot of hard work, and a lot of information was coming at me really fast, but I’ve tried to process everything and keep learning. For this pattern, Sara said hip alignment with the judges was most important. I’ve been working on that really hard, and it worked, thankfully! I really liked my walk at the beginning, and I thought my back was pretty good. I worked on my presentation, and everything that I’ve been learning I tried to over-exaggerate in the show pen.”

Although she’s a young competitor, Avery exhibits wisdom beyond her years with an excellent strategy for competition preparation. “If I’m far enough down in the working order, I like to go watch a few people to see where my spacing is, because you never know where the judges will be. Then, I like to mentally prepare for my classes. I sit down and think about every step I’m going to take. That’s how I prepare for Showmanship and for all my classes.”

Coming up later in the show, Avery and Mandy will compete in Trail, Western Pleasure, and Horsemanship.

Winning the Walk-Trot Showmanship was Abbie Hatcher with Famous N Foolish. The Reserve Champion was Delaney Good with Kewl Zippin Strider. Third was Addison Nalle-Icenhour with Scratch These Odds. Fourth was Cara Christensen with Slightly Fancy. Fifth was Addy Kallay with Ima White Sensation.

This was 10-year-old Abbie’s first time wining a Youth World Championship title with her horse “Calvin.” Coming into the show, her goal was to make it into the Top 5. Abbie and Calvin currently compete under the guidance of Show Horses By Shannon with Shannon Vroegh and Hannah Warren.

Although Abbie’s favorite class is Western Pleasure, she does enjoy Showmanship. Two of her favorite maneuvers include trotting and turning. “My favorite part is getting to show! I get to stand right by him, and I like that.”

Before she went in the pen today, she was very nervous, but Hannah gave her some helpful advice. “She said to keep my hands up, because sometime they drop, and she reminded me to smile. I was nervous, but I just thought positively and didn’t think anything negative.”

Later on in the show, Abbie and Calvin will compete in Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, and Trail.

Gianna Pozzi led Ima Cajon Hot Krymsun to win 13 and Under Showmanship. The Reserve Champion was Avery Rees with Miss Mesmerized. Third was Sydney Hatcher with Only Good Intentions. Fourth was Kristen McPherson with Twenty Four. Fifth was Kendal Fellegy with Fancy Sneakers.

Gianna Pozzi just turned 14 last Monday, and she received the best birthday present a girl could ask for… two World Championship titles! She rode her horse, “Rio,” to win her first ever World Championship title in 13 and Under Equitation yesterday. Her second came today in 13 and Under Showmanship. The team also placed sixth in 13 and Under Hunter Under Saddle and Youth Aged Geldings. Later on in the show, they will compete in Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, and Trail. Of all the classes she competes in, Gianna’s favorite is Showmanship because of the horse-handler connection that’s required.

This team currently competes under the guidance of Deb Anderson, who gave them some great advice before the class began. “She told me to keep my head up and to make sure I was the best partner I could be for my horse to give him the best chance for success. She said I should know that everyone makes mistakes and not to put it all on me and not to put it all on him, but to stay calm and do my best.”

Gianna clearly did just that this afternoon and was rewarded by the judges. Her favorite portions of the pattern included her line to the judge, back up, and square corners.

Finally, Taylor Burgess won her first World Championship title with her horse, RL Talk About Sudden, in 14-18 Showmanship. The Reserve Champion was Lucie Lundquist with Optimized. Third was Rebecca Figueroa with Just Say Whoa. Fourth was Emily Drew with Scenic Dell Rio. Fifth was Abigail Love with Sensational Hannah.

It’s been a long time coming, but 17-year-old Taylor Burgess finally achieved her long-time goal of winning a World Championship title in her favorite class at the Youth World Show. She was at the lead of her 14-year-old gelding, “Bugsy,” when she learned she had topped the judges’ leaderboard.

“It’s Carly’s (Veldman-Parks) favorite class, but it’s also my favorite too,” she says. “I feel Bugsy and I have a strong connection, but we’ve yet to get a buckle in Showmanship. We’ve always come really close; for the last two years, we’ve been in the Top 5. So, it’s exciting to actually win it. I’ve been working really hard for the last couple of months.”

Taylor’s trainer, Carly Veldman-Parks, emphasized the importance of several maneuvers in today’s very challenging pattern. “Getting my spot on the judge and making sure that I was straight in my back in the corner was pretty much the most important. Also, I focused on being really crisp. I went hard at the end to finish it off on a good note. I really think we plussed the back, and he stopped really hard. His turn and set up was also really good too.”

As the placings were nearing the end and there were only two ladies left standing, Taylor didn’t know which way the ribbons would fall. “Honestly, it was so nerve-wracking. I really didn’t know what was going to happen, but I was really excited either way. Lucie is so great at Showmanship. I was just happy we had an amazing pattern. I couldn’t have asked for him to be any better.”

Keep an eye out for Taylor and Bugsy in Trail, Western Riding, and Horsemanship later on in the show. Also, Taylor has recently committed to ride for the University of Georgia Equestrian Team, so be on the lookout for her in upcoming NCEA competitions in the coming years.

Tomorrow’s classes focus on Trail, so stay tuned to EquineChronicle.com for more interviews with winners, fun photos, and live results on our FB page.