Shannon Brown and Huntin A Gal Win First Am. World Title in Showmanship at 2013 AQHA World Show

By: Brittany Bevis

Exhibitors braved frigid temperatures that dipped into the twenties this morning in Oklahoma City at the 2013 AQHA World Show in order to prepare for the Amateur Showmanship finals. Ironically, it was a California girl, Shannon Brown, who took home the win with Huntin A Gal.

“It was a little hard,” Brown says. “We’re from California, so we’re not quite used to this cold weather, but it was fine. It was good because it woke me up!”

Brown and her eight-year-old gelding “Ryan” have been a team for the past three years. Brown has competed under the guidance of her horse trainer, Nancy Alto-Renfro, for the past ten.

“We’ve been working together a long time,” Brown says. “This is actually my first World Show showmanship finals ever. I’ve never had a horse that was very good at it, and he’s pretty talented at it. I’ve worked with him for three years trying to get to this point.”

Brown has a prior AQHYA World Championship title in Trail, a third place finish in Amateur Western Riding, and numerous top ten finishes, but this is her first World Championship earned in the amateur division. Because this was Brown’s first time to make it back to a showmanship finals at the AQHA World Show, she also received the Intermediate Champion award in the class.

“I was really happy with [his pattern,]” she says. “I was first to go, so I was a little nervous making the lines, but I was really, really happy. I didn’t expect it. It was amazing. Nancy said, when I walked in, I needed to look at the cones and make my decisions then because I was going to have just a few seconds. I did that. I looked at them for a minute, thought about my lines, and went for it.”

“He’s really good at making sharp corners and doing things really tight, so this was a good pattern for him. I felt like I could show off those parts really well.”

Amateur Showmanship–

1-Huntin A Gal/Shannon Brown

2-Javah Mon/Parris Rice

3-The Perfect Kryme/Nicole Barnes

4-Too Good Is True/Morgan Justiss

5-Still Not Interested/Kelly Johnsrud

6-Speciality Item/Sasha Lyons

7-I Auda Be Invited/Teal Peterson

8-Invite Me Forever/Berre Bert

9-A Natural Dancer/Rebecca Moore

10-Invested In Cookies/Hope D’Alessio

Intermediate–

1-Huntin A Gal/Shannon Brown

2-Too Good Is True/Morgan Justiss

3-Speciality Item/Sasha Lyons