Horsemanship Champion Klay McDowall Sets the Standard for 2026
“I came, I saw, I conquered.” –Julius Caesar.
By Delores Kuhlwein
At the first weekend of the 2026 Arizona Sun Circuit, Amateur Klay McDowall added another win to his rather impressive horsemanship dossier, this time with a new horse, Flo Rida, conquering a field of 40 to become overall class winners of the L1 Horse Non Pro Horsemanship.
In 2025, Klay was undefeated in the event with Only Martinis For Me, aka “Phil,” making news by wrapping up his year as the unanimous champions in the L3 Amateur Horsemanship Finals at the 2025 AQHA World Championship Show.
It came on the heels of their 2025 All American Quarter Horse Congress Championship in Amateur Horsemanship in October, which followed their win of the 2025 CINCH Horsemanship Invitational at the 2025 NSBA World Championship Show, where Klay was the only male exhibitor.
The Equine Chronicle caught up with the horsemanship high-flyer at the Arizona Sun Circuit in between work and showing to ask:
The question on the minds of most horsemanship exhibitors: how do you arrive at such a significant point in your show career?
Klay says he has been riding all his life, but it goes deeper than that. “My mom, Marnie, is a very good horseman, and my dad’s obviously a great horse trainer, and I’m fortunate enough to have some good genetics, which comes with timing and feel for horses. But more importantly, when you are a horse trainer’s kid, your first few horses are… maybe not the most genetically inclined, maybe a little bit more mentally difficult, and you have to learn to work with the horses,” he reveals. “You have to figure out a way to make that horse shine.”
He says horsemanship is the class that yields itself best to that situation, which many exhibitors can relate to, because it’s about forming a connection. “It’s a little bit more about the rider, and you don’t have to be a beautiful pleasure horse to run a fast circle and slow down hard and elements like that. To answer the direction question, then, the success has come with years of practice and years of horsemanship being my favorite class – a class where I felt like I could most make the horse shine.”
Photo by Cody Parmenter Photography, courtesy of NSBA.
His mental strategy when it comes to memorizing patterns includes visualizing the pattern. “I think the best example is the CINCH Horsemanship Challenge where there are four or five different options, and then you’re told the pattern just a few minutes before you actually perform the pattern. And so I think the way I prepared for that was running through the patterns in my head a lot, even without my horse. Because some horses anticipate, you can definitely over-practice on your horse. So I visualize things a lot for the big horse shows.”
The Genius In His Practice
The genius in his practice, however, includes another component. “Part of that visualization is not just learning the pattern, but remembering at what point do I want to pick my hand up, use my right foot, use my left foot, press it down, anticipating what I think my horse is going to do in the arena, and practicing how I’m going to be ahead of that,” he explains. “And more importantly, if you’re running a fast run diagonally across the arena, for example, most horses are going to want to change leads. And so it’s like, how can I have five strides before my horse feels like he’s going to change leads be ahead of my horse wanting to change leads?”
Wisdom for Horsemanship Riders
The commercial real estate attorney, who says horses have become his escape from everyday stressors of life, provides sage advice for other riders who are also fans of horsemanship.
“My best advice is to practice like you want to show. If you practice timidly and then you go out and show like you’re at 110%, it’s not going to go well. And I think practicing at 110% yields itself to forming a really good connection with your horse. Because if you and your horse are making mistakes in the practice pen together, you can figure out how to fix those mistakes before you go in the show pen,” he explains. “That comes with my third piece of advice, which is be confident in your feel and what you have the horse underneath you. Like if you feel like something’s happening that’s not supposed to happen, you should have the tools in your tool belt to fix it and use those in the arena.”
Photo credit: NSBA
Support from his Circle
After a lifetime in the saddle as a trainer’s kid, Klay approaches riding with his dad, renowned trainer and judge Kelly McDowall, as his go-to partner in his success. “It’s more of a horse training partnership at this point than anything, but he watches me and helps me. He’s very knowledgeable and he’s a good person for me to bounce ideas off, like when I’m struggling with a particular problem and I can tell him what I’ve tried. He’s great at providing an alternative solution to the problem.”
Like anyone who has come up through the ranks, Klay McDowall is grateful for his circle, and his journey. “Though I’m sure I’ll miss somebody, I’d like to thank my dad, my mom, Marnie, and my sister, Claire McDowall, and everyone at the McDowall barn.”
Watch Klay’s winning pattern with “Phil” from the 2025 AQHA World Championship Show, and keep scrolling for results and scoresheets from the class:
Video:
Complete results:
Score sheets:
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