Inaugural Youth Freestyle Reining Showcase Highlights Three, Creative Ladies

Denver, Colo. – Created to provide local youth within the equine industry an opportunity to showcase their talents in freestyle reining, the inaugural Youth Freestyle Reining Showcase featured three young horsewomen from our home state of Colorado. Daisy Kaufman of Castle Rock, Amber Nusser of Longmont and Kaylynn Sheldon of Fort Lupton entertained the crowd with fun and flashy routines prior to the $20,000 RAM Invitational Freestyle Reining.

Daisy has been riding since the age of four and has been training with Devin Warren of Warren Performance Horses for almost ten years. To show us hard work and dedication are necessary in a “9 to 5” job, Daisy partnered with her six- year-old Quarter Horse mare Tinseltown Baybedoll, also known as Mini Mag, to perform to Dolly Parton’s classic song. Daisy will graduate high school this spring then plans to study biochemistry while riding for Baylor University’s NCAA Division I Equestrian Team this fall. Mini Mag has a family history in Denver as her mom, Magnums Bay Be, was ridden by Rylee Justus in the 2014 RAM Invitational Freestyle Reining.

Amber is a 16-year-old high school junior who has been showing horses in 4-H since she was nine. She is the 2019 Boulder County Fair & Rodeo Lady-In-Waiting and a member of the Rocky Mountain Wrangler IEA team. Coincidentally, she first came across her favorite musical, Grease, a year ago when she was shopping for her first reining horse. Amber has been the happy owner and rider of My Revolutionary Way, or Miley, for the past year and donned a “Pink Ladies” jacket to spin, slide and reminisce to a medley of Grease favorites.

A current Laramie County Community College (LCCC) student, Kaylynn showed off the talents of her home raised and trained Paint mare, Hickory on the Moon, to an Eric Church favorite, Homeboy. Kaylynn grew up on horseback showing in various disciplines but especially enjoying reining and reined cow horse. She continues to compete as a member of the Ranch Horse Versatility Team at LCCC. Hickory is the first finished reiner Kaylynn has trained from her family’s breeding operation, Hovander Family Paints. She believes we all endure various life experiences but we can always return to our roots.

For more information on the Youth Freestyle Reining Showcase, visit https://nationalwestern.com/horse-shows/horse-exhibitors/