University of Wyoming Equine Teaching Fundraising Clinic
The University of Wyoming Equine Teaching program is hosting a Reining and Ranch Riding Clinic at the UW Hansen Arena in Laramie on September 21st and 22nd.
All levels are welcome. Rider slots are reserved upon payment. Conatct Jenny Ingwersen- Niemann with any questions by emailing her at jingwers@uwyo.edu
Mark Gyunn is an AQHA Professional Horseman and holds judging cards with the AQHA, NRHA, NRCHA, VRH and NVRHA. He has been involved in the Interscholastic Equistrian Association and a coach for many years.
Don Beard is an APHA Professional Horseman, certified clinician and Director. He holds judging cards with the WCHA, APHA, ApHC, PtHA, ASHA, WRHA, POA, and NSBA Category I.
August 2023: WQHA Cowboy Summer Classic 2023 Results Are In
The Wyoming Quarter Horse Association (WQHA) hosted another successful well-attended show, the Cowboy Summer Classic, July 12-16 in Douglas WY. Open, amateur and youth exhibitors from across Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming showed to six nationally known judges in a wide range of Quarter Horse and All-Breed classes. WQHA is especially grateful to AQHA judges Bruce Army, Cyndi Robbins, Lita Perrin (July 12-14), and Jan Larsen, Kathryn Kope, and Dave Denniston (July 14-16) for having made this show such a high-quality event.
A great venue on the Wyoming State Fairgrounds and fabulous prizes (including $500 for the top ranch/reining and all-around performance winners!) helped attract top professional and amateur exhibitors from the region. Show manager Lacy Cooper and show secretary Sherri Matuska ran the show beautifully, which contributed to a highly professional but still relaxed atmosphere. Last but not least, a pizza party sponsored by Smiley the French Bulldog and a corn hole tournament made for a fun time for all!
All in all, the show brought in more than 900 class entries at the open, amateur, novice amateur, rookie amateur, select amateur, youth, novice youth, and rookie youth levels. Classes included ranch horse (ranch riding, rail, and trail), reining, barrel racing and pole bending, halter and showmanship at halter, Western performance (western pleasure, western riding, horsemanship, and trail), and English performance (hunter under saddle and equitation). As in prior years, L1 (novice amateur and green horse) classes were particularly popular as the show has become a favorite regional venue for novice exhibitors to hone their show skills, and for open exhibitors to gain experience for their young and green horses. That said, there was plenty of good competition at the Amateur, Senior, and Junior horse levels. All breed, rookie, and walk-trot options for both English and Western classes boosted participation by both members and non-members. The largest classes (10 or more entries) included Senior Ranch Trail, Senior Ranch Riding, L1 Ranch Riding, Senior Trail, Amateur Trail, L1 Amateur Trail, and L1 Amateur Horsemanship.
The show’s AQHA youth champions were: Reese Barrett and No Doubt Im Spartacus (youth champion and L1 youth champion); Milana Rowe and AJ Shes Surely Foxy (L1 youth reserve champion and rookie youth reserve champion); and Giana LaReau and Im Zipped Good (rookie youth champion).
Note that Reese and Milana both went on to the AQHYA youth world show in Oklahoma City in August and had great shows!
The high-point AQHA amateur champions were: Kristina Rothers and The Bar Made Me Lazy (amateur champion and L1 amateur champion; Elizabeth Wilson and Schwagger (amateur reserve champion and L1 amateur reserve champion); Roxanne Doogan and Snapchat Diva (amateur select champion); Bruce Rice and Sweet Lil Oak (amateur select reserve champion); Pamela Kauffman and Immortal Conclusion (rookie amateur champion); and Erin Harding and Whooz Foolin Who (rookie amateur reserve champion).
AQHA high point horses were: Sweet Lil Oak and Bruce Rice (high point senior horse) and Snapchat Diva and Leslie Lange (reserve high point senior horse); The Witch Dr and Leslie Lange (high point junior horse and high point L1 horse); Platinum and Proud and Marvin Kapushion (reserve high point junior horse); and Playnchipsonthestrip and Suzanne Kapushion (reserve high point L1 horse)
All Breed champions were: Annabelle Hulbert and Figure on Fancy (All Breed youth champion), Caitlyn Kauffman and Look Here Im Hot (All Breed adult champion); and Randy Guggisberg and Winken Thunderstorm (All Breed adult reserve champion).
Huge congratulations go to Bruce Rice and Sweet Lil Oak, the winner of the Ranch Horse/Reining Spectacular and $500; and to Reese Barrett and No Doubt Im Spartacus, the winner of the All Around Performance Spectacular and $500!
Finally, congratulations to the many circuit and individual class winners, and to everyone who came and showed! The riders and the horses were all truly impressive. All results are posted at Sherri Matuska Show Management www.smshowmanagement.com.
WQHA wants to call attention to the many sponsors whose support resulted in great prizes for high point winners, circuit awards, and many lucky exhibitor cash awards. Platinum sponsors included MACKSTEEL Farm and Ranch Equipment. Gold sponsors included Equine Oasis, Grasslands Market, Kelley Simonsen, Leslie Lange Performance Horses, Logcrafters, and Smiley the French Bulldog from NYC. Silver-level sponsors included Cinch, Daurio Performance Horses, Douglas Feed, First Interstate Bank, Guynn Training Center, Kiyota Greenhouses, Nemmers Performance Horses, and Tom Balding Bits and Spurs. The show was also supported with a grant from the Converse County Tourism Board.
Last but not least, WQHA wants to encourage everyone to attend the upcoming WQHA-approved shows: AQHA Region 2 Championship, September 13-17, at the Central States Fairgrounds, Rapid City, SD; and Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association’s Rocktoberfest show, October 12-15, at The Ranch in Loveland, CO. Points earned by WQHA members count toward 2024 year-end awards. For those points to count, however, exhibitors must be a 2024 WQHA member prior to the start of the show.
Nicole Ballenger
WQHA Secretary
Link to full story at The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News: HERE
September 2022: WQHA Cowboy Summer Classic Results Are In
The Wyoming Quarter Horse Association (WQHA) hosted another well-attended show, the Cowboy Summer Classic, in July in Douglas WY. Extra toasty daytime temperatures and extra high fuel prices didn’t deter exhibitors from coming from across Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, and South Dakota to show to six nationally known judges over five days in a wide range of open, amateur, novice, and youth Quarter Horse and All-Breed classes. WQHA is especially grateful to AQHA judges Leanne Williams, Bonnie Jo Clay, Janet Wilson, Pete Kyle, Chele McGauly, and Nancie Wright, for having made this show such a high-quality event. Great judges, a great venue on the Wyoming State Fairgrounds, and a reputation for a relaxed but professional atmosphere helped attract numerous top performance-horse trainers from the region and their clientele.
All in all, the show brought in nearly 3600 entries at the open, amateur, novice amateur, youth and novice youth levels in AQHA and All Breed ranch horse classes, reining, barrel racing, halter and showmanship at halter, Western performance, and English performance classes. As in prior years, L1 (novice amateur and green horse) classes were particularly popular as the show has become a favorite venue for novice exhibitors to hone their show skills and to get ready for larger shows, and for open exhibitors to gain experience for their young and green horses. That said, there was plenty of strong competition at the Amateur and Amateur Select levels. All breed, rookie, and walk-trot options for both English and Western classes boosted participation by both members and non-members. The largest most popular classes included All Breed Ranch on the Rail, L1 horse Ranch Riding, Junior horse Ranch Riding, Amateur Performance Halter geldings, L1 Amateur Showmanship at Halter, L1 Amateur Western Horsemanship, L1 horse Trail, L1 Amateur Trail, and Amateur Hunt Seat Equitation.
The show’s high-point youth champions were: Rachel Spint and her horse One Hot Cruiser (AQHA youth level 1 walk-trot); Sadie Jo Lamar and Impulsively Kruzin (AQHA rookie youth); Milana Rowe and Al Shes Surely Foxy (AQHA Level 1 youth); and Madeline Stucky and Be Invited (AQHA youth).
The high-point amateur champions were: Andrea Schultz and I Wanna Kissa Cowboy (AQHA amateur level 1 walk-trot); Diana Spint and One Hot Cruiser (AQHA rookie amateur); Caitlyn Kauffman and Slow Ridin (AQHA Level 1 amateur); Kendra Whitney and Rumors inthe Dark (AQHA amateur); and Kelly Simonsen and Sho Me the Monie (AQHA select amateur).
High point horses were: Xtra Okie Shiner (AQHA open level 1 horse), owned by Marvin Kapushion; Cowpuncher Cadillac (AQHA junior horse), owned by Jimmy Daurio and David Renier; and Rumors Inthe Dark (AQHA senior horse), owned by Kendra Whitney.
All Breed champions were: Logann Candill and Kids Blu Lady (All breed walk-trot); Sadie Joy Lamar and Impulsively Kruzin (All breed youth); and Kelly Simonsen and Iron the Blues (All breed adult).
Youth champions Logann Cahill and Sadie Joy Lamar were newcomers to the WQHA show and we hope we’ll see them next year and for years to come!
Congratulations to our reserve high point winners, as well, and to the many circuit and individual class winners, and to everyone who came and showed! All results are posted on the WQHA website at https://wqha.org.
WQHA wants to call attention to the many sponsors whose contributions resulted in great prizes for high point winners, circuit awards, and lucky exhibitor cash awards. Gold level sponsors included Fender Performance Horses, Kelly Simonsen, Logcrafters log homes (Stuart Thompson), Leslie Lange Performance Horses, Logan Stetson Equine Services, and The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News. Silver level sponsors included Cinch, Double Heart Performance Therapy, Guynn Training Center, Nemmers Performance Horses, Rocky Mountain Show Supply, Erin Kathleen Photography, McDowell Quarter Horses, and Jimmy Daurio. Class sponsors included Erin Harding, Kitty Peterson & Associates, Linda Wise, Yellowstone Economic Associates, Tom Balding Bits and Spurs, Adair Walker, Kiyota Green Houses, Smiley the French Bulldog from NYC, and Nicole Ballenger. The show was also supported with a grant from the Converse County Tourism Board.
Last but not least, WQHA wants to encourage everyone to attend Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association’s Rocktoberfest show, scheduled for October 13-16, 2022 at The Ranch in Loveland, CO. This is an WQHA-approved show, so points earned by WQHA members count toward 2023 year-end awards. But for those points to count, exhibitors must be a 2023 WQHA member prior to the start of the show.
Nicole Ballenger
Link to full story at The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News: HERE
Written by: Nicole Ballenger
April 2022: Horse Show Opportunities for Youth Through Interscholastic Equestrian and WQHA
I was a horse crazed kid back in the 1960s. Most every day in the summertime I rode my bike to the local stables that featured trail rides for tourists (the horses went out to pasture in the winter) and hung out there all day long. When I was 10 years old my dad bought the horse that I typically rode on the dude string, a palomino gelding named Pepe. I never learned to pick up a lead and never saw or heard of a lunge line, but rode that horse in the mountains, raced in the meadows, and swam with him in the creek till I went away to college. Sometimes, when the Gymkhana came to town, we ran around barrels and once I carried a flag in a rodeo parade in our local ice arena, but I had no idea what a horse show was or any knowledge of the various skills I could develop and strive to perfect in partnership with a horse. Such a great childhood but so many things about horses and horsemanship I never learned!
These days there are multiple ways for horse crazed kids to get into the horse world, even if their families don’t have horse experience. 4-H, which most everyone in this neck of the woods knows about, offers one way. Another way is through the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) for middle and high school youth. IEA is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 in Ohio. Its members participate as individuals and as team members in equestrian competitions in hunt seat, dressage, western horsemanship, reining, and ranch riding. Some teams ride English and others Western, and there are some kids that cross over and do both. The great thing about IEA is that there’s no need for the kids to own or lease a horse! In fact, when the kids go to IEA horse shows they ride whatever horse they select in a computer-generated random draw. They learn about “their” horse by watching a volunteer ride it at the start of the show, and in their pattern classes they do the rail work first in order to get a feel for the horse. You can imagine how challenging this is but also how effectively it builds horsemanship skills. You can find out more about the national IEA organization at www.rideiea.org.
Several Wyoming Quarter Horse Association (WQHA) members are involved in the IEA program. About 10 years ago then-Colorado based and now Wyoming based trainer Mark Guynn was encouraged by a professional horseman to start an IEA team out west. In 2012 the first Western IEA horseshow west of the Mississippi was held at his and his wife Jan’s place in Berthoud, CO. The Guynns have been involved ever since and now that they’ve resettled their training program near Sheridan, Wyoming they are thinking about starting a Wyoming team. They need a minimum of three riders to get started (contact Mark if you’re interested at guynntraining@gmail.com). There are several features of the IEA program that Mark really likes: In particular, it allows kids and their families to explore and assess their interest in horses without making a big investment up front. Although some of Mark’s IEA riders have had their own horses, about half have not. For kids who stick with IEA, Mark says it turns out to be a great platform for being invited to join a collegiate horse show team. At least three of Mark’s IEA riders have gone on to top colleges, including University of Georgia, Baylor University in Texas, and University of California at Davis, having been recruited by these schools’ equestrian teams.
About five years ago Mark and Jan convinced Colorado trainers and WQHA members Nancy Nemmers (Nemmers Show Horses) and Jimmy Daurio (Daurio Performance Horses) to join them as IEA coaches. Nancy and Jimmy both talk about how rewarding it is to watch the IEA youth rise to the challenges offered by the program, including taking on the responsibility of catching, grooming, saddling, and caring for the horses they ride in practices; and acquiring sportsmanship and leadership skills, some older kids becoming mentors for younger kids, all while becoming top notch riders. They see IEA as akin to other school sports. Kids must have good grades to participate and the program provides a lot of structure to enable success. Participants must have a plan to guide their progress, they must attend four lessons per month, and must make up any missed lessons. They emphasize that IEA really stresses and values sportsmanship; participants vote for the best sportsman, sportsmanship patches are awarded, and sportsmanship awards can lead to scholarships. Nancy talks about the benefits of being an IEA coach for herself as a professional, especially how rewarding it’s been to gain experience coaching a team as well as working with individual riders. For Jimmy, seeing horse crazed kids without their own horses get a chance to connect with horses, ride, and develop horsemanship skills is worth all the significant time and travel commitments. Nancy and Jimmy both continue to coach IEA in Colorado and welcome you to contact them at jnnemmers@msn.com and jimmydaurio@gmail.com.
Link to full story at The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News: HERE
Written by: Nicole Ballenger