Carley Rutledge and VS Born To Be Good Win First-Ever 13 and Under Trail at AQHA Youth World

By: Brittany Bevis

First-time AQHA Youth World competitor, Carley Rutledge, rode her horse, VS Born To Be Good, to win the first-ever 13 and Under Trail held here at the AQHA Youth World Show. 13-year-old Carley and her 5-year-old gelding have only been a team since late January. They compete under the guidance of Shannon Vroegh and Hannah Lind.

“I’ve been showing horses for the past three years. Last year, I got started with Shannon and Hannah, but my horse went lame, so I had to borrow other people’s horses to ride. But, that was really good for my confidence, because I got to experience riding a lot of different horses. Then, I got my horse! I love him. He has a lot of different names. We call him Howard, Houdini, Hootie Who, and Eeyore.

Thus far at the horse show, Carley and Howard have placed 24th in L2 Trail and 14th in 13 and Under Horsemanship. Tomorrow, they will show in 13 and Under Showmanship. Carley does have a prior Reserve Congress Championship in Showmanship, but it was achieved with another horse, Famous N Foolish.

Before today’s class, Carley and Shannon laid out a plan of attack for a tough Tim Kimura Trail course. “I had to hit all my spots. I like to dive in sometimes, but she had me stay out, look up, and ride. He’s really lazy, so I have to keep riding and pushing him. Our extended trot was really good. We hit all our spots, went fast, and didn’t hit anything. Also, I really liked all the lope-overs.”

The Reserve World Champion was Grant Mastin with Hand Made Machine. Third was Ella Roberts with RV Miracle Machine. Fourth was Cheyenne Augsburger with Huntin For Candy. Fifth was Addison Albers with Lopin On A Goodbar.