PASO ROBLES — Phillip Ralls and Dom Dualuise thrilled the house and put themselves on the wall of champions at the 2013 World’s Richest Stock Horse bridle competition held Aug. 17 at the National Stock Horse Association Futurity in the Mid-state Fairgrounds.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — California youth made their leadership known at the 2013 Arabian Horse Association Youth Nationals Championship Show, held July 20-27 at the Expo New Mexico.

Golden State exhibitors returned home with 11 National Championships and 29 Reserves, as 56 young Californians in all captured finishes in the Top 10.

This year’s AHA Youth Nationals attracted 513 exhibitors from across the nation and Canada, competing on 837 horses in 2,602 classes.

BURBANK — No one expected Kelli Norwood NOT to win the 2013 Jack and Linda Baker Classic Reining more than, well, Kelli Norwood.

“I worked really hard for this event, but I still can’t believe I won,” said Kelli, who topped the large, competitive amateur field under the lights Los Angeles Equestrian Center Equidome Aug. 17 on One Flashy Rooster for the title. “I had never won a buckle in my life, so my goal was to qualify for the event and hopefully win a buckle. I still cannot believe it.”

BURBANK — Gina Hitchman, trained by David and Cheryl Busick, rode Only Good Sox to the championship of the 2013 PCHA Trail Classic, held Aug. 16-18 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

ESCONDIDO — When the fledgling Southern California Reining Horse Association brings Hunter Equestrian Center to life Sept. 22 with its one-day reining show, it will be the culmination of many volunteer efforts.

DEL MAR — On the final day of the Showpark Summer Classic, three divisions in the 3’3″ CPHA Foundation Equitation Championships — 14-under, 21-under and 22-over, competed for the top calls. After two rounds and a work-off, cumulative scores from judges Rob Gage and Chris Wynn determined the winners.

The CPHA Foundation classes have a work-off built in to each round with two tests from the USEF Eq 1-18.

WOODSIDE – -With a fly-by performed by an American Bald Eagle on opening day, spectacular Bay Area weather and the region’s best reiners vying for $180,000 in added money and prizes, the 2013 Reining By The Bay just had to thrive. And it did.

The event, held July 17-21 at the Horse Park at Woodside, was the second of a three show reining circuit by Brumley Management Group, falling between March’s Cactus Reining Classic in Scottsdale and the High Roller Reining Classic in Las Vegas set for Sept. 6-14.

WOODSIDE – Pardon the prejudice, but last August when Dana Avila was looking for a new reining horse, the 4-year-old filly that her husband, Bob, asked her to try had one major flaw. She was a she.

DEL MAR — Only one double clear round, that of Jaime Azcarraga riding Anton, took home the trophy Aug. 3 in the $30,000 August Festival Grand Prix, presented by Equine Insurance.

With 37 entries, Anderson Lima of Mexico set a course that only seven managed to ride without error –and only one rode both rounds with no faults at all.

“I thought it was a really nice course by Anderson because it was not too big, but all the fences came down and it was very technical,” said the winner, Azcarraga.

DEL MAR — In her last performance as a junior hunter in regional USEF National Junior Hunter competition, Samantha Sommers of Malibu was a hit.