Olivia Tordoff/Lookin Lazy; Dan Yeager/Cracking The Code Win Congress Horsemanship

By: Brittany Bevis

Two Horsemanship Champions were crowned this evening at the Quarter Horse Congress, and interestingly enough, they share many similarities and a special connection with a former horse.

First, Olivia Tordoff rode Lookin Lazy to win 15-18 Horsemanship. Olivia is a multiple Congress Champion in Horsemanship with her longtime partner, Sterling Version, who has since been retired. Together, they won Novice 13 and Under Horsemanship once, were Reserve twice, won 12-14 Horsemanship twice, and won NYATT Horsemanship once. Olivia has been showing her new, young horse, “Mariah,” for just two years, and they’ve had some challenges.

“She had about six months off, because we had some mare troubles with getting her attitude in check. It’s difficult starting over with a brand, new horse. We definitely had a little bit of a rough time at the Youth World. She can be a little weird about things, but ultimately that’s what I think makes this win really special. I worked with this horse with my trainer, Brent, and we taught her everything she knows. We just got our lead change in August. It’s a really special win for that reason. I wanted to prove to myself, and to everyone else, that I can win on a green horse. Sterling taught me everything I know, but I can do it on a green horse too.”

Mariah is by Lazy Loper and out of Goodbar Glamour Girl. Currently, she only competes in Horsemanship, but with a newly acquired lead change, Olivia is hoping to add Western Riding in the future.

 

The Reserve Champion was Natalia DeVencenty with Moonlite Madness. Third was Mallory Vroegh with Krymsun Belle. Fourth was Alex Albright with Best Gift Yet. Fifth was Nya Kearns with Never Sudden.

Dan Yeager rode Cracking The Code to win Select Horsemanship for the third year in a row here at the Congress. Dan, himself, has won the class four years in a row, the first win with his late partner, Cee Money.

 

“Pistol” is a six-year-old gelding by VS Code Red that Dan purchased as a three-year-old from Kenny and Ashley Lakins’ program. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have some really nice horses. He’s super nice and sweet. He doesn’t chump you. He’s a super good boy.”

Currently, Dan and Pistol compete in Showmanship and Western Pleasure, but Western Riding and Trail are on the horizon. “This year, I started doing Trail, and we’re still trying to get our mo-jo there. Tomorrow morning, Brad Ost will be showing him in Green Western Riding. Next year, I’m going to start going down the line. I did it with Sterling Version a little bit, but I haven’t done it for 12 years.”

That’s right, at one time, Dan owned Olivia’s horse, Sterling Version.

Horsemanship is Dan’s favorite class because he enjoys a challenge. “At first, I thought the simplicity of the pattern on paper was a little light; but, as I sat down and studied it, I saw that there were some maneuvers that needed to be precise.”

“Horsemanship is my favorite class. I think patterns challenge me as a rider. I think, in this class, you really have to be in sync with your horse. In other classes, you can fake it a bit, but you can’t with this class.”

A small bobble in the preliminaries caused Dan and Pistol a bit of concern, but they were happy to have a second chance in the finals. “During our lead change, we almost fell down. Luckily, we got to come back to the finals. It was an error that I couldn’t control, so I knew we had to be perfect on every other maneuver.”

“We went into our right circle, and I wanted it to have good cadence. It needed to be accurate, precise, and crisp. When I came back around, the spin to the left was really good, and we went right into our extended trot, which we’ve been working on.”

The Reserve Champion was Gary Holme with Come N Get Ya Some. Third was Lauren Stopperich with One Hot Big Leaguer. Fourth was Kathy Tobin with RA Undisputed. Fifth was Susie Johns with It’s A Good Pleasure.