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California Youth shine at Paint Summer World Show

From Horsetrader staff reports - August 6th, 2009 - Cover Story
August 6th Issue

August 6th Issue

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Paint Horse Association debuted a new format for its World Championship Show by splitting it into two events: a Summer World Show and a Fall World Show. The Summer World Championship Paint Horse Show from June 24-July 4 at Will Rogers Memorial Center featured a full schedule of Youth events, followed by a smaller selection of Amateur and Open classes.

Next, the APHA Fall World Show from Nov. 5-14 will focus on Open and Amateur divisions.

The Summer World Show’s combination of Youth, Open and Amateur classes brought in 690 horses and 1,880 entries. A total of 94 World Championship trophy buckles were awarded to individuals claiming the coveted World title. Sixty-six classes were held and included 1,256 Youth entries, with Californians doing well in several classes. Here is only some of California’s Youth competitors who attended the show:

All-Around Youth 14-18

The 2009 All-Around Youth 14-18 Champion was Alexie Estrada of Bakersfield riding Predictably Perfect. She accumulated the most points in her division riding one horse in a minimum of three categories.

Estrada, who is 19, rode her 8-year-old gelding to a total of 124 points, with the highlight being a World Championship in Hunter Hack. The duo also accumulated Reserve World Championship titles in Hunt Seat Equitation, Horsemanship and Western Riding classes. Estrada has been riding for past 12 years and traveling to compete regularly for the past five years.

High-Point Walk-Trot Youth

The 2009 High-Point Walk-Trot Youth was 9-year-old Maggie Waguespack of Bakersfield. This promising young competitor earned over 100 points in Walk-Trot events riding CL IL Ring Your Belle. Their accomplishments included four World Championship titles in Walk-Trot events: Showmanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Hunt Seat Equitation, and Trail; and a Top 5 in Horsemanship. Her horse is a 6-year-old mare owned by Rob and Jenny Waguespack.

A good show for California’s Youth

Ashley Wildes and Heza Texas Hobo win reserve in Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences 18 & Under.

KC Montgomery photo

Ashley Wildes and Heza Texas Hobo win reserve in Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences 18 & Under.

Trainers Tim and Karen Wildes of Wildes Show Horses in Lakeside, Calif., along with their clients and horses were among the Californians who made a worthwhile trip to Fort Worth.

Ashley Wildes and Heza Texas Hobo, an 8-year-old gelding who she has owned for a year, took Reserve Championship in the Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences 18 & Under Overall Finals. “It was really rewarding to earn the Reserve World Champion because we’ve been through so much,” Ashley Wildes said. “It started the year badly; he’s a different horse now. ‘Hobie’ has so much personality–he’s not just a horse; he’s my best friend.

The All-Around Novice Youth was Danielle Kemper, who won both the Novice Youth Showmanship Overall Finals and Novice Youth Hunt Seat Equitation Overall Finals riding Mr Jack Cool. The pair also took reserve in Novice Youth Horsemanship. Kemper only started riding Mr Jack Cool since April, “so it’s pretty extraordinary for them to put it all together in such a short amount of time–and do so well so far,” Tim Wildes said.

In the Youth Trail 13 & Under Overall Finals, Alexis Hyzdu and Sensationalatmidnight won the reserve championship. Hyzdu has performed exceptionally well earlier in the year by winning Novice Youth All-Around High Point at the Pinto World Championship in June, but she got sick during the APHA Summer Show and had to miss a few days of competition there. Still, she persevered and won a reserve championship at her first Paint World Show.

More California Standouts

Tiffany Neal and Docs Master Remedy earn titles for Youth Reining 13 & Under and Limited Youth Working Cow Horse.

KC Montgomery photo

Tiffany Neal and Docs Master Remedy earn titles for Youth Reining 13 & Under and Limited Youth Working Cow Horse.

Trainers Jerry and Shelley Lunde of Lunde Show Horses in Norco also had a great show with their horses and clients to earn several World titles.

JD Yates and Skid Outa The Way, an 8-year-old mare owned by Cassandra Stambuk of Yorba Linda, Calif., was reserve champion in the Senior Steer Stopping Overall Finals. “Skid Outa The Way was initially bought for $8,500 just for youth reining, but he’s turned out to also be an outstanding roping horse, with about 270 youth reining points so far, and has won multiple saddles and high-points at different shows,” Jerry Lunde said.

Cassandra Stambuk also rode her own horse Hesa Rock Dancer, a 6-year-old gelding, to a reserve championship in the Youth Reining 14-18 Overall Finals. Hesa Rock Dancer’s title was also a sweet spot when the horse was first bought, some thought “Remy” might not be enough horse to compete at a World show, but Jerry and Shelley Lunde said they kept believing and training the horse; thinking there might be a World title in that horse–and it proved to be true.

In the Limited Youth Working Cow Horse Overall Finals, Californians took the Top 3 spots: Tiffany Neal of Ramona, Calif., and Docs Master Remedy, owned by Robert and Janet Neal, won the World Championship. Tiffany Neal, who trains under Mike and Kristi Berg Performance Horses in Temecula, also won the Youth Reining 13 & Under Championship. “Tiffany’s a good rider and great exhibitor,” Mike Berg said. “She’s got a super horse; one of the nicest horses I’ve seen.”

The reserve championship in Limited Youth Working Cow Horse was earned by Ashley Corona and her 10-year-old gelding, Jose Black Smoke. In third place was Cassandra Stambuk and Hesa Rock Dancer. Jose Black Smoke winning a reserve championship was a highlight because the horse had been through two colic surgeries, so the success of Stambuk with the horse is extra special, Jerry Lunde said.

Overall, many Youth riders and their trainers said the focus on Youth classes in the Summer Paint World Show made it less hectic and enabled Youth competitors and their trainers to focus more on those classes. On a positive note, it meant there were fewer late-night competitions, but it also made for a slight drop in the overall atmosphere, when compared to previous all-in-one World Shows, some exhibitors said.

Others said splitting the APHA World Show into two events also makes it financially difficult for them to justify the added expense of trying to compete and travel to two APHA World Shows, only a few months apart. This forced some riders and trainers to only pick one show–those focusing on Youth classes attended the summer show, while many Open and Amateur riders would wait to only attend the Fall Paint World Show.

For complete show results, visit: www.aphaworldshow.com

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