AQHA L1 West Championships and AzQHA Pinnacle Host Another Pair of Successful Shows

Every horse show has inspiring stories of determination and triumph, but at the accessible AQHA West L1 Championships held at South Point Arena in Las Vegas May 19 – 24, stories poured from every stall, colored every class, were written in every smile and every tearful celebration.

Settling in to its second year at South Point, the show saw 2,730 entries, 453 exhibitors, 469 horses, with 163 exhibitors showing for the first time. Exhibitors came from across the western states, Canada and even a few ventured to Vegas from the East Coast.

Scott Neuman, AQHA Director of Competition, was in Vegas enjoying the show, lending a hand where needed and engaging with exhibitors. He comments, “The Level 1 Championship Show’s give us at AQHA a chance to highlight this extremely important section of our horse show population.  It’s our chance to promote the enjoyment and fun of showing at AQHA events to walk-trot, rookie and level 1 exhibitors.”

South Point’s all in one facilities go a long way to ensure AQHA’s goals are met and the friendly atmosphere made everyone feel welcomed and supported. The stadium style arenas were the perfect venue to recognize the top 15 exhibitors in grand fashion with an awards ceremony at the conclusion of each class.  Exhibitors won medals, ribbons, jacket patches and ultimately, custom trophies presented through 3rd place. Many Champions expressed their joy by taking a victory lap with their trophy held high and their red, white and blue neck ribbons fluttering. Other awards included belt buckles and gift certificates. All Around high point awards were also presented across divisions in the AQHA and NSBA.

In addition to plenty of great competition, AQHA Professional Horsemen volunteered their time to give five free Ride the Pattern clinics, presented by Nutrena. These clinics gave exhibitors a chance to see how the pros would approach the upcoming patterns.

AQHA West L1 Championships were held in conjunction with Arizona Quarter Horse’s Pinnacle Circuit Show that ran May 14-19. Pinnacle Circuit was named a Top 10 AQHA show for 2024 and the two events complement each other very well.

With classes offered at every level, trainers had something for everyone in their barn when hauling to Vegas. Plenty of circuit awards and All Arounds rewarded the top score earners. Pinnacle L1 classes were used as a warm up experience for many exhibitors whose main goal was to show in the following L1 Championships. For exhibitors at all levels, the Pinnacle offered a chance to show at a national level show in a fabulous facility, with all the prestige and excitement that accompanies that sort of experience.

Show director and AzQHA CEO Doug Huls comments that it was encouraging to see so many barns represented at Vegas that are not typically at the large regional or national shows. “I had a chance to welcome a lot of exhibitors I had never met,” said Huls. “It really shows the impact of the L1 Championships have on bringing people into the world of AQHA showing. Our A-List staff did a fantastic job making sure every person, whether they were brand new or a seasoned pro, had a great experience at every point.”

Despite large class entry numbers Huls was pleased that the schedule for both The L1 Championship and the Pinnacle Circuit ran smoothly. South Point has ample warm up arena space, and the use of the Farnam Arena for Trail classes and warm up helped ensure a good flow to the schedule. “We had reasonable completion times each day,” adds Huls. “Exhibitors and their families were able to go to dinner, have fun together, really enjoy their time here beyond the arena.”

Because horse shows need to be fun, the Pinnacle’s Got Talent competition returned this year during a Happy Hour party at the Cinch Saloon on Friday night. Eleven acts stepped on the stage to perform live in front of a 3 member panel of judges and the assembled crowd. After some truly spectacular and entertaining performances, Katie McArthur’s perfect 10s won her both admiration and an E-Bike.

With another successful pair of shows in the books, plans are already underway for next year. The schedule slides forward a week in May, which will reduce school and graduation conflicts. Pinnacle Circuit will be held May 7-11 and AQHA West L1 Championships will run May 11-16.

AQHA West L1 Championship

HIGH POINT AND SPECIAL AWARDS

 

Small-Fry High-Point
Kennedy Grace Wright and KM Three Bars Down

 

Rookie Youth High-Point
Maddie Dawson and All About That Lope

 

Rookie Amateur High-Point
Ashley S. Mossman and Touch N Go Show

 

Level 1 Youth Walk-Trot High-Point
Jayde McGill and Leave U With A Smyle

 

Level 1 Amateur Walk-Trot High-Point
Laura Forbes and He Hung The Moon

 

Level 1 13-&-Under All-Around
Abigail Lee and Its Southern Blues

 

Level 1 14-18 All-Around
Emerson Knabenshue and Party Favours

 

Level 1 Amateur All-Around
Sawyer Byers and Ill B At The Bar

 

Level 1 Select All-Around
Ashley S. Mossman and Touch N Go Show

 

Youth Top AQHA Ranching Heritage-Bred Horse
Morgan Lara Weber and Pepsa Rooster
2004 buckskin gelding
Roosters Shorty-Pepsa Sue by Peppy Motorscooter
Owned by Cara Crowley Weber
Bred by Mary Bailey Davis, Maxwell, New Mexico

 

Amateur Top AQHA Ranching Heritage-Bred Horse
Virginia A. Barnes and Pursuing The Dream
2018 bay mare
Hes a Dream Weaver-Ziptentiously by Hot Pretense
Owned by Virginia Barnes, San Antonio, Texas
Bred by Kenneth or Laina Banks, Schulenburg, Texas

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Arizona Quarter Horse Association

515 E. CAREFREE HWY PMB #405

PHOENIX, AZ  85085

(623) 869-8037 – (623) 869-7676 fax

 

Kristen Spinning

Pinnacle Circuit Media Coordinator