Around the Rings – AQHA L1 West Championships, Wednesday, May 17
On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at the AQHA L1 West Championships at WestWorld of Scottsdale, the name of the game was Showmanship, along with Reining, Ranch Riding, and Over Fence Classes.
In the Showmanship arena, the first class of the day was Rookie Youth Showmanship, and Mylie Parker won the top spot with Dont Doubt Im Hot.
Miley says she’s had “Pink” for about a year now, and what’s most interesting about her is that she was a diamond in the rough that was a past lesson horse. “She was never trained to be a show horse, and then we brought her to Reid Thomas, and in just a year we’ve made her in to this fantastic show horse,” Miley explains.
They’re doing the all-around except for pleasure, and even though showmanship has just become part of Pink’s repertoire, Miley has done it her whole life with other horses. “I was a little small fry in shoulder pads,” she laughs. “This past year we’ve just really been getting back in to the horse stuff.”
Results for Rookie Youth Showmanship:
Next up in the Showmanship arena, L1 Youth Showmanship 13 & Under took center stage, with Emme Graves cinching the top spot with Justa Machine.
L1 Youth Showmanship at Halter 13 & Under:
Then the L1 Youth 14-18 Showmanship exhibitors entered the arena, and when all were done, Allie Aronsen and NoSneakinUpOnWilly took first overall.
Allie says she didn’t put too much pressure on Willis and herself, but she decided to go out and have fun and try their best. “Willis definitely knows what he’s doing. I don’t have to do too much, he’s such a good boy,” she explains.
Since she’s been managing traveling from California to Texas to ride with Maestas Show Horses, she says she’d like to practice more as school is time consuming. “I switched to in-person school recently, and I’m a Junior right now. The second I get home from this show, it’s off to take my finals.” As she makes plans for college, she knows one thing for certain – she’d like to help others in her future career.
Results for L1 Youth Showmanship 14-18
Then in the Rookie Amateur Showmanship, Faith Dantona and Too Lazy To Be Wild grabbed top honors. See what Faith had to say about “Brewster” in our EC TV interview:
Results for L1 Amt Showmanship at Halter:
Enjoy our candid photo gallery from Wednesday below:
