Weis and Van Lanen Win Junior Green Trail and Novice Youth 14-18 Trail

By: Brittany Bevis

After nearly five hours of Trail competition this morning at the 2014 All American Quarter Horse Congress, two big winners were crowned. Blake Weis was in the saddle of Snap Krackle Pop for owner Twylla Lynn Brown in Junior Green Trail, and Livvie Van Lanen rode All But Sudden to a win in Novice Youth 14-18 Trail.

The Reserve Champion in the Junior Green Trail was Nick Mayabb with Lover Treat Me Good, followed by Bruce Vickery and Suddenly Im Cool in third place. The Reserve Champion in the Novice Youth 14-18 Trail was Mallory Vroegh with Southwestern Pete; Vroegh also rode Some Sweet Machine to a fourth place finish. Gabriella Salamone and The Best Cookie were third.

Blake Weis acquired Snap Krackle Pop, aka “Randi,” from Rusty Green Show Horses last December and has been hard at work developing her natural talent in events like Trail and Western Riding.

“She’s really smart, and she tries really hard,” he says. “It came to her really quickly, and she enjoys her job. [The biggest thing] has been getting her to go forward and be comfortable taking a longer step. Honestly, she was so broke on the rail that all I really had to do was kick her forward, and she did the rest.”

Because of her natural cadence and balanced rhythm, Weis believes Randi’s best obstacles are her lope-overs.

“She is really good at any kind of complicated maneuver,” he says. “Because she is so smart, she can kind of get in there and work herself through it, and I don’t really have to help her. She learns how to get out of things.”

Coming up later in the show, this busy four-year-old mare will also be competing in Junior Trail, Sweepstakes Trail, Green Western Riding, and Junior Western Pleasure.

Weis and Randi scored a 231.5 to win the class today. The Reserve team received a 229.5, and the third place team scored a 229. In an event like Trail, it’s the difference of just a few points that can be the deciding factor when it comes to who goes home with the Congress bronze.

“I think she plussed [obstacles] throughout most of the pattern,” he says. “I had a little trouble at the beginning at my gate; she wanted to eat the mums a little bit. Maybe I should’ve fed her a little more before I came up here… maybe she was a little hungry! Now she gets to have lots of peppermints and sleep.”

Junior Green Trail-

1-Snap Krackle Pop/Blake Weis- 231.5

2- Lover Treat Me Good/Nick Mayabb- 229.5

3- Suddenly Im Cool/Bruce Vickery- 229

4- So Dang Lazy/Melissa Jones- 228.5

5-Too Radical Toinvite/Jet Thompson- 228

Novice Youth Trail 14-18-

1- All But Sudden/Livvie Van Lanen- 232.5

2-Southwestern Pete/Mallory Vroegh- 228.5

3- The Best Cookie/Gabriella Salamone- 228

4-Some Sweet Machine/Mallory Vroegh- 227

5-Blazing Hot N Gold/Miranda Mittten- 223