World Show News

The First Champions Named at Inaugural NOHSA World Show

Written by Connie Lechleitner

The inaugural National Open Horse Show Association World Championship Show got underway on Saturday, September 11, with a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and competition in Halter, Showmanship, English Pleasure, Equitation and Trail. The show attracted exhibitors from Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and even Oklahoma who are competing for prizes as well as some classes with added money.

A stirring tribute to the 20th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11 began the day with a flag procession and the playing of Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning” started the day, followed by the playing of the national anthem. A moment of silence was observed at the exact moment the first plane struck the World Trade Center towers.

Halter

Chesna Wertz, of Ashland, Ohio, earned the very first world championship of the show in Pony Halter with her mare Illini Saige. “We call her Shania, and we’ve had her since she was two and she’s seven now,” Chesna said. “When she’s on, she’s on, you can really show her and she’s a great partner.

Chesna’s husband is president of Ashland Paint & Plain, and she serves as a director. “We’ve been planning to come to this show ever since it started,” Chesna said. “We thought it would be cool to have a world show for the Open shows. We show primarily with the Ashland Paint & Plain Club in Ohio, but we do the Regional and Eastern Championship Show with Pony of the Americas, and a lot of the bigger Open shows around Ohio.”

Chesna and Shania also won the Walk Trot English Equitation 19 & Over.

Preslee Tauer didn’t have very far to travel to attend the NOHSA World Show. She showed Oh My Shes Awesome to win Youth Halter Mares. “We live in Monroeville, Indiana,” she said. “I’ve had Mya for five years. She’s pretty much my heart horse. She was in pretty bad shape when we got her, and we just clicked instantly. So we nursed her back to health, and started showing her. She’s got a great set up and very nice top line. Plus she’s a black horse and she really stands out.”

Another world champion, Lillie Koester and PMTA Cowboy Casanova, came to the World Show as a result of their home show group, the Southern Illinois Equine Group, even though the pair had not been showing together very long. “We’ve had Casanova for 44 days, and he hadn’t been shown before I got him,” Lillie said. “We have been showing at small and big shows together including the AQHYA World Show and the Paint Futurity. I love him. He’s a big baby.

“We heard about the show through SIEG and we wanted to support it. We love to show, and it was a great opportunity.”

Lillie’s mother, Stacy Westjohn, was nearly in tears after earning her very first world championship showing Fear Dat Badonkadonk to win Open Halter Geldings. “I’ve always helped Lillie, and I’ve won reserve before but never a world championship,” she said. “We’ve only had Irish for four months – he was a surprise from my boyfriend. I’m ecstatic!”

Earning Showmanship Title

Exhibitors presented their first set of pattern skills in Showmanship classes for 50 & Over, 19-49, Youth 14-18 and 13 & Under and Small Fry 9 & Under divisions on Saturday.

An Indiana team, Justasmalltowncowboy and Suzanne Tucker earned the world title in Showmanship 50 & Over. “This is my retirement horse,” Suzanne said of ‘Max.’ “I’ve had him for two years, and he’s seven years old. We show in Ranch Riding classes, but Showmanship is our best class. We show in Indiana and Illinois primarily in Ranch Horse shows around Danville, Franklin and Bainbridge.”

In the other adult Showmanship class, Maureen Kay Pappas and The Best Margarita earned the world championship and seemed surprised by the win. “We haven’t been doing Showmanship very long, and ‘Mark’ doesn’t really like it all that much,” laughed Maureen.

“We came here to do something different and show against different competition. We show around Indiana, at Greensburg, Valley Riders, Richmond and Allen County shows. I used to love the Open shows and I miss them. We show the All Around classes, and it’s really excited to start out with a world championship.”

Morganne Slaght and Two Skip Investment started the day with the first of several world championship titles, winning Youth Showmanship 14-18. “I’ve had Bentley for six years. We got him on my 13th birthday,” she said. “I love his personality. He would be a lap horse if he could. He love the cuddles. I leased him for a year and then we bought him.

“We show in the All Around classes. Melissa Bell told us about the World Show, and got us interested in it. We primarily show around Southern Wisconsin, from East Troy, to Jefferson to Elkhorn, and with the Wisconsin Open Horse Show Association.”

The duo also won Walk Trot English Equitation 18 & Under, Walk Trot Trail 18 & Under and Youth Trail 14-18.

Exciting English World Titles

Jessica Robinson and The Cash Is Good became another member of the Southern Illinois Equine Group to see world show success, winning the world championship title in Walk Trot English Pleasure 19 & Over.

“I’ve had RJ since he was a three year old – he liked me,” laughed Jessica. “He just takes care of me. He’s seven years old, and he loves to extend jog so that’s why we like the English Pleasure. The SIEG shows are close to home for us, and we enjoy them. Winning the world championship feels pretty good – I’m pretty giddy about it!”

Seth Salgado and Consider Me Fancy earned the first of their world championship titles on Saturday in Walk Trot English Pleasure 18 & Under. The pair saw success in just a few months together. “We just got him in March,” Seth said. “He’s what I needed. I had had never done English before, and we had a great opportunity to buy him. He’s fun to ride. His name is Kricket.

“We show around Boone County, Hendricks County and Hamilton County in Central Indiana. Some of the people in the barn we board at talked about the NOHSA World Show and got us interested in it.”

Seth and Kricket won the Open $250 Added Walk Trot English Pleasure as well.

In Youth English Pleasure 14-18, Madalyn Fisher showed No More Exceptions to the world championship, the first of several they would win on the day. “Maizie is a seven year old paint mare, and I’ve had her for three years. She is one of my favorite horses. She’s eager to please and has a big personality,” Madalyn said.

“We show at a lot of Open shows and do the All Around classes. We show around Bloomington, Danville and Franklin, Indiana and we started with NOHSA last year. We were going to attend last year until it was cancelled by COVID.”

They also won Youth English Equitation 14-18.

A Trail To A World Title

Chromed Out Lazy and Kayla Roach were named the world champions in Walk Trot Trail 19 & Over. “I’ve only had ‘Rex for two months,” Kayla said. “He makes me look good. My other horse had got hurt. We show with the Southern Illinois Equine Group in DuQuoin, Illinois, and I’ve shown AQHA a little bit.

“We show in Trail, Horsemanship and Showmanship, the Western pattern classes, and rail classes. This was a great opportunity to do something else. I can’t believe we won a world championship!”

The NOHSA World Championship Show continues through Sunday, September 12. To learn more about NOHSA, or qualifying for the 2022 World Championship Show, please visit nohsa.net.

The World Show Begins

Written by Connie Lechleitner

The National Open Horse Show Association’s inaugural World Championship Show kicked off the weekend with “Ride The Pattern” clinics, which were presented by world champion trainers and coaches Jessica Gilliam, Melissa Jones and Sue Ellen Kaven on Friday, September 10, at C Bar C Arena in Cloverdale, Indiana.

Professional Melissa Jones provided insight into the Small Fry, Walk Trot, Youth and Adult Trail patterns that will be used at this year’s World Show, pointing out the trickier parts of the pattern, how to avoid penalty points and the importance of being aware of upcoming obstacles by always looking up as soon as an obstacle is cleared. She also discussed penalty deductions and how to approach one-stride and two-stride lope-overs.

Melissa returned to break down the Horsemanship patterns that judges will use during the weekend for the Small Fry, Walk Trot, Youth and Adult Horsemanship classes. She discussed the importance of looking around the arena for ‘landmarks’ that can be used to lay out the pattern ahead of time, as well as the importance of proper leg and upper body position and a natural, comfortable appearance.

Jessica Gilliam broke down the elements of the Showmanship patterns that Small Fry, Youth and Adult exhibitors will perform at the NOHSA World Championship Show. Like Melissa, she discussed a game plan to make use of the arena to fit the pattern, making sure that the exhibitor has enough room to perform all required maneuvers such as circular movements, turns and backing, including count steps to ensure the needed space is performed.

Sue Ellen Kaven took attendees through the English Equitation patterns that judges will use to official the Small Fry, Youth and Adult Equitation classes at this year’s show. She discussed proper body position in the saddle and the importance of maintaining a constant but light connection with the horse’s mouth through the hands and arms. She helped a young exhibitor walk through the pattern several times and explained how the pattern could be improved.

The NOHSA World Championship Show gets underway Saturday morning with Halter, Showmanship, English Pleasure, Equitation and Trail classes, while on Sunday, Ranch Rail, Ranch Riding, Ranch Conformation, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship and timed events will take place.

To qualify for the World Championship Show, exhibitors must become a member of NOHSA and provide their show results from two Open horse shows to the NOHSA office. There is no show approval requirement for show management, however breed show classes cannot count toward qualification for the NOHSA World Championship Show.

For more information about NOHSA or qualifying for the 2022 World Championship Show, please visit nohsa.net.