Laurel Champlin and Look N Hott Win Third Select Equitation World Title

By: Brittany Bevis

Laurel Champlin and her 12-year-old gelding, Look N Hott, have been a team for nine years now. During their time spent together, “JJ” and Laurel have won Select Equitation three times, and Laurel has a fourth title in the discipline with another horse, as well. Suffice to say, it’s her favorite class.

“For me, it’s muscle memory,” she says. “As a youth, I didn’t show AQHA, but I’ve shown English all my life. I started doing Horsemanship recently, but it’s different. I can concentrate more on other things when doing this class, because I don’t have to focus on my body position as much.”

Because of her previous success in this event, Laurel has a tendency to be a bit of a perfectionist, breaking her pattern down into pieces to analyze later. “I’m my own worst critic,” she says. “I will go back and yell at my pattern and pick out everything I don’t like. I was pleased, but there were still parts I would like to improve upon. I don’t really compare myself to others. I’m my own competition. I watch my videos all the time and try to find things to improve upon.”

Before Laurel went into the pen for today’s pattern, she laid out her plan of attack and gave herself a little pep talk. “I really gave myself a pep talk before I went in, saying ‘I’m a bad ass!’ Then, I went up to the cone and made sure JJ was in front of my legs and on my hands. Then, I tried to get forward motion right away, because it’s harder for him to start from a stop, because he’s 17 hands.”

One of the most difficult parts of the pattern, Laurel feels, was the two point trot into a canter. “I’m not going to lie. It was a little tough. I had to close my hip angle a bit. I didn’t really run the hand gallop, because it was short, and I just wanted extension of stride. Once I turned the corner, I kept his shoulders up and sat down before changing leads. There was a lot happening in that little area, so I had to make sure to be soft but demanding.”

Laurel’s favorite part of the pattern was the final canter extension down the wall. “My favorite part of the whole pattern was after I turned the left corner and went down the wall extending the canter without going into two point. I felt so pretty.” Another portion where Laurel feels JJ earned bonus points was his square stop. “One thing he does that’s really pretty is when he stops, he stops square, and he stands like a little statue.”

“The only mistake I made was that I didn’t release my hands, so when I asked him to turn, he wanted to take step back. So, I had to check him with my inside rein, and then he turned around fast. I was feeling pretty good about the pattern at that point, so I was feeling a little overachiever there!”

Coming up later in the show, Laurel and JJ will compete in Amateur Hunter Hack. JJ will also show in Senior Hunter Hack, Progressive Working Hunter, and Novice Hunter Hack with Laurel’s niece, Tina.