“I had to climb the wall to give my mom a hug! That’s always been my plan, if I was ever to win, was to hug my mom, my horse trainer, and my best friend, Natalia, who came all the way to the show to surprise me.”

“There are amazing horses in there; so, when they were counting down, I was just happy to be there. I was just shocked. I had to give him a hug, twice! I just couldn’t help it.”

“However I went, even if I had a mistake, I would’ve been happy with it, because I’m at my first Youth World.”

Well, everything is turning out alright this year, because she was just named the Champion in the largest class of the horse show- L2 Horsemanship- with 167 entries!

Today marks nine months since Caroline sustained a torn ACL from playing basketball and had to undergo surgery. It’s taken a while to rehab and recover, but both she and “Moose” were feeling great in today’s finals. 

Now that Alessandra has her coveted golden globe, she plans to keep it very close. “I will probably sleep with it for the next three days!”

This is only the second year the Youth World Show has offered 13 and under classes, which allows young competitors like 11-year-old Emma to compete against her peers of similar skill level and experience. Emma came to the Youth World for the first time last year, and although she’s won numerous Congress Championship titles, this is her first World Championship title. 

“I would say it’s a clean slate once I get to the finals. I’m happy and what happens is going to happen. I’m very confident in Lefty and myself, and I’m so excited to see what he can do, and what I can do, and I hope it goes well.”

“He’s 18 hands and I’m like 5’3″. It’s funny, because I’m the shortest member of our youth team, and he’s the tallest horse in the barn.”