Brody Galyean and Cool Poco Dot Win First World Championship in L2 Western Pleasure

By: Brittany Bevis

The Galyean family is known for a history of excellence in the show pen. Their dynasty extended another generation today when 14-year-old Brody Galyean won L2 Western Pleasure with his horse, Cool Poco Dot, this evening at the AQHA Youth World Show.

This is Brody’s first year with “Molly,” a 8-year-old mare by LL Cool Bay. He’s only been riding horses for the past two and a half years, because he has a very busy extra curricular schedule with basketball, football, and track.

Why Western Pleasure? Brody has a simple answer. “It’s what my parents do. It’s what I have grown up around. How can I not do it?”

Brody believes Molly is an excellent Western Pleasure horse because of her consistency and easygoing demeanor. “She’s a really good and relaxed horse. She will take you around the pen, and there is not much fight to her. It’s smooth sailing most of the time. As a Western Pleasure horse, she’s a really great loper. She’s definitely better to the right, but she’s good to the left too.”

This is Brody’s second Youth World Show, and he’s already won two trophies. Yesterday, he was named the Reserve Champion in 13 and Under Western Pleasure behind his friend, Steve Wheat.

While Brody certainly takes advice from his dad, he also recognizes a good friend who helps him with Molly. “Adam Mathis is kind of like my horse trainer. In the semis, Molly got a little fast and loose at the end, so he told me to keep my leg there for pressure. I didn’t need to have my spur on her; I just needed to keep my leg there for pressure, and she was a lot better in the finals.”

Brody does enjoy competing in Western Pleasure, but he hasn’t ruled out other Western events like Western Riding. He was happy that he was one of two boys to make it back to the finals today. “The girls are always the face of the youth, and there are always more girls than boys, so it’s nice for a boy to win.”

The Reserve Champion was Alexis Mccollough with For The Love Of The Game. Third was Leah Anderson with Gun Powder N Smoke. Fourth was Hanna Olaussen with Wearin Only Moonlite. Fifth was Jessica Wazny with Struttingwithmybootson.

Sixth was Taylor Dynek with Smooth Zippin Chex. Seventh was Blakely Abbott with Made Just Right. Eighth was Jordan Schween with Good Cuz I’m Lazy. Ninth was Tori Kendle with Quita Machine. Tenth was Spencer Hardin with Zip It Martha Stewart.