2012 Youth Nationals
By Jackie Pakula & Ashley Robinson
Youth Nationals Final Day (July 28th)
Today marked the final day of Youth Nationals 2012! Finals night was completely exhilarating, filled with HA Park and Native Costume. The show was incredible, and many kids were named national champion honors. Until next year, Youth of 2013!
-Jackie
Well, its finally here. The last day of the 20th anniversy Youth national show. What memories have been made and what excitment has been created. The last day you see horses being walked around with all their well earned awards waiting for a chance to have their pictures taken. Its always a sight to be seen and makes the whole show worth it. The show itself had some exciting moments to remember..so many new faces wearing red roses and trainers high fiving one another. It is truly what makes it all worth while. The classes on Saturday were all intense and it was especially neat to see Ricky Johnson win BOTH of his Western Pleasure JO and JT classes as he does a majority of the training on his own. Hannah Feldman also took both honors int he JO and JT 13 and under Hunter and Alex Desidero dominated the 14-17 equitation. When you see teams like this winning across the board, it shows you the show is on the right track, There were MANY more like this. As always the show comes to an end with the HA Park and it did not disappoint. The energy was high as HS Liverty gained a Top Ten with a dynamic performance! As you linger out of the Tingley on the last night, you give your hugs to the close friends youve made, carrots to the horses that give their all and a pat on the back from the trainers that get here, it makes you eager to get home and start working for next year!
-Ashley
Youth Nationals Day 7 (July 27th)
Another exciting day at Youth Nationals 2012!! Colby Powell thrilled the crowd with a sidesaddle "Dude Looks like a Lady" theme in the freestyle reining. Cow classes were very fun to watch, as well as the HA Saddleseat Equitation final (filled with excellent riders.) The show is almost over unfortunately, but it has been fun!
-Jackie
And here we are, in the last final days of youth Nationals....its about as fun and sad as it gets mixed into one feeling. As the morning started it was full of cutting and cow horses. What a treat to see the versatility of the breed. To go from that to watching some exciting English horses really makes you appreciate what we do! Watching the kids do the stick horse contest and know that this is a start for most of them is so inspiring and takes you back to what really matters. As the day went on, every barn seemed to be decorated in red. The finale of the night was definitely the freestyle reining! Each team had a unique theme. The top two were Livie Pakula, whose theme was was around fighting the law. She brought a group of friends that helped supply the theme as police officers. Everyone seemed to enjoy it! But Colby Powell stole the the show as he broke through with DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY and did the whole routine in a SIDE SADDLE! It had everyone to their feet and was a moment to remember....hoping everyone had a great night and looking forward to the last day!
-Ashley
Youth Nationals - Day 6 (July 26th)
Youth Nationals had another successful day!!! The HA English cuts wowed the crowd, which were followed by the dog costume and races. The pig toss was popular amongst the kids, and many people through in their pigs eager to win prizes. Finals are well under way, and the excitement is building up as the show slowly winds down.
-Jackie
Down to the last three days of nationals and emotions are getting high! The last real day of cuts and finals are under way! One of the highlights of the show was the highly anticipated youth national debut of the 4 year old Half Arabian English pleasure horse Nutcracker Sweet! Juliette Dell was all smiles in her cut as she literally kept all eyes on her! Makes for an exciting final! The John White Stable group is having a great show winning the eq and Ashton kiesner is making her presence known in a big way in the 13 and under. Holland Stevens is making it a year to remember also 13 and under winning over 5 championships! The halter classes were won both by Sydney Dazzo and the finale of the night was the park class where the crowd was full of life and Star Light was awarded champion! Lots more and congratulations to all the winners!
The fun dog classes also happened yesterday an the Desiderio's precious Bella came out as champion! It was so fun to see dogs center ring running around and playing. Tomorrow looks bright!
-Ashley
Youth Nationals - Day 5 (July 25th)
Lots of classes and event at Youth today!! The ice cream social took place, as well as the dunk tank. Stephanie Davisson and Colby Powell were 2 of the few who were dunked Wednesday afternoon. The judging contest was a success, attracting youth and aspiring Arabian horse enthusiasts of all ages! Dressage began today, and more and more finals are occurring!
-Jackie
Wednesday marked the results of the barn decorating contest! The stall set ups always help set the mood for the show and this year were some of the most creative! All the hard work paid off for the following winners: Platinum performance - small barn decoration winner, Lefever training - medium barn decoration winner, and Cactus Rose Ranch -large barn decoration winner.
The ice scream social was out for all the youth! What a good time that was with music, all the ice cream you could want and the dunk tank! Everyone lined up for a chance to dunk jimmy stachowski and what a sport he was!
The Burkmam centre hosted a BBQ that was quite the event! The food was tasty and the company was even better! It was a great way to socialize with everyone and a must attend event! The show is going smoothly and can't wait for what tomorrow brings!
-Ashley
Youth Nationals - Day 4 (July 24th)
The Youth Nationals show is going great!! The sectionals of the Half Arabian English JTR 14-17 were a crowd favorite. Cuts are still taking place, but many finals are now occurring. People have been purchasing pigs for the pig tossing (which will occur on Wednesday) as well as nominating their trainers for the Dunk Tank. The show is going by quick but it is running great in Albuquerque!
-Jackie
Walking around the grounds today you can't help but notice the atmosphere getting more emotional as more finals start to happen and more stalls are decorated in roses. It puts in perspective all the hard work everyone puts in. One moment that stuck out in my mind was in the Hunt Seat Eq 13 and under final when a young girl from the desiderio barn went against all odds with a broken foot to compete. She was awarded a top ten despite it. The top two in that same class were equally inspiring as the emotions when they were named champions were contagious! The night ended with a 13 and under purebred show hack final and the crowd was enthusiastic! Makes me look forward to more on weds!
- Ashley
Youth Nationals - Day 3 (July 23rd)
Today at YN 2012, classes filled the Tingley and Horse Arena. Finals included the Ladies sidesaddle English which was won by Holland Stevens aboard GR Khaleidoscope. Also, Mary Wilson took the unanimous championship in the Arabian saddle seat equitation. Cuts are still taking place, and kids and their horses are doing great! The stick horse contest took place today, a favorite for the younger kids. More to come the rest of the week!
-Jackie
Youth Nationals - Day 2 (July 22nd)
Day 2 of YN 2012 went smoothly with plenty events! Today the golf cart parade was, as always, a crowd favorite. Regions were decorated with numerous diverse decades. The Tingley Colisseum and Horse Arena were filled with pleasure and equitation classes. In the dairy barn, trail finals came to a conclusion. The show is going great and kids are all having a blast with Arabian horses.
-Jackie
Youth Nationals - Day 1 (July 21st)
Today the 2012 Youth Nationals had begun! Classes ranged from showmanship, UPHA, trail and more. The exhibitor party was extremely popular with all of the youth, and the show is off to a great start! There are numerous exciting and fun events to happen over the next week!
-Jackie
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