Celebration and EMO Western States Championship Breaks Records With 17,000+ Entries

The Celebration and EMO Western States Championship

June 27 – July 7, 2019 – South Point Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Celebration Rocks

Congratulations to everyone who competed at the 2019 show! The Western States Affiliates broke attendance records with The Celebration and EMO Western States Championship show growing over 40%. Doug Huls, show manager, confirmed that we had 17,000+ entries and nearly 900 stalls. Who wouldn’t want to show in Vegas with the fabulous climate-controlled South Point Arena, combined with the spectacular EMO Western States Championship show and the Celebration AQHA show featuring 10 judges? Exhibitors were thrilled with the venue, prizes, classes, and fun.

The show began with Cowhorse, Reining, Cutting, Ranch Horse and Speed classes. The numbers were huge! Phillip Ralls and his horse, Call Me Mitch, had a fabulous show. Phillip said, “In three classes, there were over 200 cow horses entered, at one AQHA show, and we completely qualified for the AQHA World Show! Phillip and Mitch competed in Senior Reining, Senior Cowhorse, and Senior Cutting, winning 10 firsts and two seconds.

Lots of points, amazing silver awards, and the best venue was the overwhelming consensus for this show. It’s what we heard all week long. Who wouldn’t want to compete inside the climate-controlled South Point Arena where heading to your hotel room requires no driving, just walking down the hall and heading up the elevator! Between the many great places to eat at the South Point Casino, to the newly remodeled hotel rooms, and of course, spending time doing fun activities in the casino, everyone had a great time after the horse show was over.

The competition was deep in every class, but with Doug Huls as show manager and Chris Frese/Fox Show Services as show secretary, the show went off without a hitch. A special thank you goes to Chris Hocutt-Senteney and the EMO Agency for sponsoring the EMO Western States Championship portion of the show.

There was a lot of rocking and rolling at The Celebration and EMO Western States Championship as the show accommodated larger than expected classes, and even an earthquake one evening. Most exhibitors claimed they didn’t feel the earthquake shaking. It was around 8:00 pm and Trail was running, so most exhibitors were focused on riding the tough Don Lehman Trail course. Trail was huge with 80 in the Senior Trail alone. Here’s what Suzanne Beckman said. “Horse show, check. Earthquake, check. Amazing dinner with amazing friends, check. What an unforgettable night!”

Sponsors

Stacy and Troy Dial/Sterling Custom Saddles spoke about their Celebration sponsorship for the Best of Show High Point Champion Awards- Sterling Custom Headstalls and Silver Buckles- for the 11 & under circuit champions. Stacy and Troy are familiar faces in the breed show arena as they travel to most of the World Championship show venues. Their granddaughter, Lizzie, made her debut in the new Celebration 11 & under classes. Their dedication and commitment to our Quarter Horse industry with their quality saddles and tack makes them a must-stop when buying the right show tack.

When we talked to Stacy about her experiences at The Celebration, she exclaimed, “We love doing it, and it was so much fun! What a long two weeks. This is what horse showing is all about. The Celebration and EMO Western States Championship show just came together as hoped, but the exceptional turnout exceeded all our expectations. I think we had hoped it would be ‘the show’ of the future, but it already is. Kathy’s Show Equipment/Sterling Saddles could not be more proud to be a part of it. I believe all the sponsors feel rewarded when we see numbers like this.” Thank you, Stacy and Troy Dial and Kathy’s/Sterling Saddles for being a part of this record breaking show.

Thanks to our ever-growing list of prestigious sponsors. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, contact pcqhaoffice@gmail.com, or check out our complete list of sponsors at TheCelebrationLasVegas.com.

New for 2019

Classes: Added this year were 11 & under classes, including Ranch Riding, Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship, and Trail. These kids were so cute and great riders! They rode hard to win beautiful silver buckles donated by Sterling Saddles/Kathy’s Show Equipment and Troy and Stacy Dial, and the all around 11 & under beautiful bronze Marrita McMillan trophy, which was donated by Christine Hocutt-Senteney and the EMO Agency. In addition, the Celebration offered expanded classes for Ranch Riding, Ranch on the Rail, Ranch Trail, and L1 Select classes.

Futurities: Seven, new, NSBA approved futurities were held at The Celebration, including classes for Yearling Longe Line, Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, and Trail. Thank you to our generous futurity sponsors: Kathryn DeVries Mitchell/Oak Spring Ranch ($2,500 sponsor of the Open Yearling Longe Line class), Angela Clark ($1,500 sponsor of the Non-Pro Yearling Longe Line class), Sandra Morgan ($1,000 sponsor of the 3 and 4-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle class) and Precision Embroidery/Midge Agsten ($1,000 sponsor for the 3 and 4-Year-Old Trail class). Special thanks to Greenway Saddlery for providing a beautiful English bridle and reins for the winner of 3 and 4-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle class. In addition, our sincerest thanks go to Beth Clemmons for sponsoring the $500 Highest Placing 3-Year-Old award. The futurities were well attended with 13 in the Trail futurity and some of the best horses and trainers in the nation attending. Futurity results can be found on TheCelebrationLasVegas.com.

Trainers Showmanship Calcutta: Thank you to the great trainers and Quarter Horses that participated in this fun class. It was such a blast to watch! Thanks to Kent Ray Taylor and all of the generous sponsors who participated in the PCQHYA Trainers Showmanship Calcutta. We raised over $8,500 for the youth of Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association. Special shout out to Kellie Hinely for organizing the trainers, Darren Moore and Doug Hammack, for the outstanding commentary; awards help from Michelle and Dana; the best gate person, Janet; and of course esteemed judges, Nancy Renfro and Charlie Cole; along with the cutest run-around steward, Megan Renfro.

EMO Western States Championship

Even with the huge classes, we had a blast with fun activities at the show. During the EMO Western States Championship show, we crowned 50 new EMO Western States Champions. With trophies extending to third place, plus beautiful championship style ribbons, exhibitors were treated to a red carpet and Championship style awards presentation at the end of every class. This show has grown every year and it’s now taken off in its fourth year. Qualifying rules for the EMO Western States Championship can be found on TheCelebrationLasVegas.com website. Thanks again to the generous sponsorship from the EMO Agency, Chris Hocutt Senteney, for making this show such a popular event.

Awards

Circuit champions raved about the beautiful prizes! Silver champagne coolers with a special bottle of “Maverick” Cheval wine was included. The wine was an “Amateur/Select only” prize, sponsored by Cheval Winery/Donna Kauffman.

Daily prizes included a variety of tack-related items. The overall daily prize winners drawn at the end of the show received $1,000 – first, $500 –second, $400 – third, $300 – fourth, $200 – fifth, $100 – sixth.

Nine Best of Show High Point awards were sponsored by Kathy’s Show Equipment/Sterling Custom Saddles. Winners received Kathy’s/Sterling silver headstalls and Reserve Champions received silver spur straps. Out sincerest gratitude goes to Stacy and Troy Dial for their generous sponsorship.

The 11 and under youth received a special silver buckle, also donated by Sterling Saddles/Kathy’s Show Equipment, Troy and Stacy Dial. In addition, the all around 11 & under all around received a beautiful bronze Marrita McMillan trophy donated by Christine Hocutt-Senteney and the EMO Agency.

Results

Complete results can be found on TheCelebrationLasVegas.com website, but here are the highlights:

BEST OF SHOW CHAMPION PRIZE: Sterling Custom Headstalls (Sponsored by Sterling Custom Saddles/Kathy’s Show Equipment)

BEST OF SHOW RESERVE PRIZE: Sterling Custom Spur Straps (made by Sterling Custom Saddles/Kathy’s Show Equipment)

Rail:

L1 Youth CHAMPION- Lauren Blumer/ Lazy Lopin Ranger

RESERVE- Cassandre Michelle Ehrle/ Daizy Duke

Youth CHAMPION- Ella Petak/ Won Vital Code RV

RESERVE- Cori Cansdale/ Promotional Asset

L1 Amateur CHAMPION – Julie M Hoefling/ Movin The Chains

RESERVE – Jodie Radel/ Winkin For Chocolate

Amateur CHAMPION – Natalia Kay Devencenty/ Moolite Madnez

RESERVE – Kelsey Jung/ Moonlite Cruiser

Amateur Select CHAMPION – Dan Yeager/ Cracking The Code

RESERVE – Linda Coakley/ Rockstar N The House

Open CHAMPION – Cool Cruzen Lady/ Diamond Ranch LLC

RESERVE –Dont Think Twice/ Kent Ray Taylor

Ranch & Cattle:

Open CHAMPION – CD Highlights/ Linda Katz

RESERVE CHAMPION – Call Me Mitch/ Estelle Roitblatt

Amateur CHAMPION – Katie Fox/ Sesmic Reaction

RESERVE CHAMPION – Gianna Hansen/ Soula Shiner

Youth CHAMPION – Kate Buchanan/ Lucky Cee Blair

RESERVE – Julia Noelle Rey/ Workin Man Blues

11 & Under –  BEST OF SHOW AWARDS

BEST OF SHOW HIGHPOINT CHAMPION PRIZE: Marrita McMillan Custom Bronze (Sponsor Chris Hocutt Senteney/ EMO Insurance Agency)

Best of Show All Around Champion – Makeila Eserjose/ Suddens Best Asset

11 & Under CIRCUIT CHAMPION PRIZE: Custom Sterling Silver Buckles (Sponsored by Sterling Custom Saddles/ Kathy’s Show Equipment)

Ranch Riding – Circuit Champion – Caleb Cushing/ Good Time

Showmanship – Circuit Champion – Annabelle Hulbert/ Chip Moves Me

Western Pleasure – Circuit Champion – Annabelle Hulbert/ Chip Moves Me

Western Horsemanship – Circuit Champion – Makeila Eserjose/ Suddens Best Asset

Trail – Champion – Circuit Champion -Trinity Eserjose/ RL Designed Only

Futurity Champions:

Yearling Open Longe Line Futurity (Sponsored by Oak Spring Ranch/ Kathryn DeVries Mitchell)

Champion- Kissin In The Rain/ Kami Irwin Tymchuk

Reserve- Hes So Fancy – Rachel Arbuckle

Yearling Non Pro Longe Line Futurity (Sponsored by Angela Fox)

Champion- Lazy N Blue / Barbie Stanley

Reserve— Extremely Chipped / Cody Mitchell

3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure

Champion – SST Lollipop/ David Archer riding for Abagail Marie Bruno

Reserve – I Like The Dark/ Mike Hawkins fiding for Randy Kimmel

3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure

Champion – SST Lollipop/ Abagail Marie Bruno

Reserve – I Like The Dark/ Randy Kimmel

$1,000 Novice Horse All Age Western Pleasure

Champion – VS Goodride/ RJ King riding for Brenda Gower

Reserve – Suddenly Acquited/ Melissa Zanetti riding for Emily Hudson

3 & 4-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle

Champion – DGS The Entertainer – Jeff Burley riding for Robin DeGraff

3 & 4-Year-Old Open Trail Futurity – Sponsored by Precision Embroidery/ Midge Agsten

Champion –Flat Out Loping/ Kelly McDowall riding for Darlene Schwab

Reserve – Im Hott Youre Not/ Reid Thomas riding for Emma Cress

3-Year-Old Highest Placing Trail ($500 Sponsored by Beth Clemmons Performance Horses)

Winner – Justa Georgia Peach – Beth Clemmons for owner Sterling Custom Saddles- Stacy & Troy Dial

Daily Award Winners: $$$

FIRST PLACE ($1,000)– Stacy Huls for Dr John Newcomb

SECOND PLACE ($500)– Julie Hoefling

THIRD PLACE ($400)– Susan Wilson

FOURTH PLACE ($300)– Betty Edwards

FIFTH PLACE ($200)– Trinity Esterjose (Alfia)

SIXTH PLACE ($100)– Lisa Ames

Next Year

Mark your calendars for the 2020 Celebration and EMO Western States Championship, June 25 – July 5. Check the website at TheCelebrationLasVegas.com or our social media on Facebook.

Scroll below for more fun photos from the show.

If you’d like to have your show’s recap, results, and photos featured on EquineChronicle.com, email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com.