An Invincible Connection: Allie Rippeon and ItzOnly Make Believe

By Delores Kuhlwein

“The connections we make in the course of a life, maybe that’s what heaven is.” – Fred Rogers.

Ask a horse show judge what he or she is looking for, especially in a pattern class, and one of the words you’ll hear time and time again is “connection.”  The difference between an exhibitor who ends up at the top of the class, and one who doesn’t, is often the connectedness between horse and rider.

 

After Allie Rippeon won the Youth All Around and Youth All Around 12-14 titles at this year’s All American Quarter Horse Congress with ItzOnly Make Believe, the Maryland youth proclaimed the key to the level of achievement – one that countless strive for – is connection with your horse.

“If Linda and I didn’t have the connection we have at the moment, I don’t think we could ever be as successful as we are now,” Allie explains the morning after the pair were crowned unanimous Congress Champions in Youth Hunt Seat Equitation 12-14. “I watch kids who ride really nice horses, but they lack a connection, and Linda is the force she is because of how deeply rooted our relationship is together.”

For Allie, the trainers she learned from in her youth have all impacted her greatly, but one of the most beneficial aspects of her show career came when her parents, Michael and Deanna Rippeon, hired trainer Michael Colvin and moved their show horses home.

“I go out almost every single day when Linda gets turned out and I just hang out with her in the field and it’s one of my favorite things to do – I even did a school assignment on that being my happy place. I just feel like I just enjoy life so much more when I have Linda here at home,” Allie says.

She adds that having Linda nearby has paid off in the arena, too. “Not only do we get to consistently work almost every single day, but I can just be with my horse, and not just my partner I compete with – it’s not always me asking for something like – hey, I need you 110 percent in the arena.  I can just chill with her. Those connections coming from both inside and outside the arena, they come together as a really powerful force.”

Sister Support

Of all she has to be thankful for, Allie highlights the support of her sister, Maddie, who also said something profound in Columbus to her the night before she learned she won the two all around titles.

“It was totally out of the blue, and it caught me off guard,” says Allie. “Maddie said something along the lines of ‘you could ask Linda for the world, and she’d give you so much more.’ And that really resonated with me because I just feel like that’s so accurate. I feel like there’s just not another horse I’ll ever meet who is just right for me like she is.”

It’s no exaggeration to say the two are alike, both brimming with energy and the desire to do things well and tasked with the same mindset. “I think we take that energy, and we put it towards our goals, and we mix it together and then we go in the arena,” concludes Allie. “And we take that energy out on, you know, the core that we’re doing or the pattern that we’re doing. I think that’s what makes us so powerful is that connection through our energy. Linda is simply one of the best animals I have ever ridden.”

 

Results for the pattern classes of Allie Rippeon and ItzOnly Make Believe from the 2024 All American Quarter Horse Congress:

 

Hunt Seat Equitation Youth 12-14

The All American Quarter Horse Congress – Results for Class 267312 go 1

 

Western Horsemanship Youth 12-14

The All American Quarter Horse Congress – Results for Class 440600 go 1

 

Showmanship Youth 12-14

The All American Quarter Horse Congress – Results for Class 412600 go 1

 

Trail L3 Youth 12-14

The All American Quarter Horse Congress – Results for Class 438606 go 1