Comeback Queens – Meg DePalma Pye and Dont Think Twice
A remarkable team sets the tone for their return at the 2025 Orange Blossom Classic and A Sudden Impulse.
By Delores Kuhlwein
Meg and Marley graced the cover of the May 2021 Equine Chronicle as a new team.
When Meaghan DePalma Pye and Dont Think Twice won the NSBA $1000 Added Amateur Showmanship on April 22nd at A Sudden Impulse 2025, it was more than just a victory for a special team.
It’s true the success came on the heels of their Reserve Championship in the same class the week before at the 2025 Orange Blossom Classic. It’s also true they’d earned a score of 100 from one of the judges in that class.
But this accomplishment is significant on another level, says Meg. “This is our first show back since her colic surgery. So this was a big deal that we did so well here, since it’s our first show in six months. And what’s most important is that she’s alive,” she explains tearfully. “I’m just more than grateful she’s here.”
A Partnership Emerges
The two established their own magnificent story together after Meg purchased the 2014 chestnut mare by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Weknowshesomething from Kent Ray Taylor in 2020. Marley had already earned 585 AQHA points as well as NSBA World and Reserve titles in Trail and Western Pleasure, in addition to multiple top 5 and 10 NSBA World Show and AQHA World Show placings in all-around events.
At the 2023 QH Congress, Meg was pregnant with her son, Noah, when she and Marley earned a Bronze Championship in Amateur Showmanship.
But when Meg acquired Marley, they hit the ground running, earning Meg’s first Gold Globe in 2022 in Amateur Showmanship, and they followed up with countless titles at the majors. They even clinched a Bronze Championship at the 2023 All American Quarter Horse Congress while she was pregnant with her son, Noah Van Pye, who entered the happy lives of parents Meg and Preston in March 2024.
The unstoppable duo formed a true partnership, and before they knew it, they were headed to the 2024 AQHA World Show. When Marley’s trainer, Clint Ainsworth, stopped to check on the horses in the trailer as they headed to Oklahoma City, he found that Marley was colicking. He quickly jumped into action, calling the vet and arranging for the mare to go to Oakridge Equine Hospital in Edmond, Oklahoma.
“They treated her for colic, and she actually had to have colic surgery, so it was pretty scary,” explains Meg, who says she’s grateful for Clint’s intervention. “I’ve been with him for 12 years, and he knows me in and out and he knows when to push and when to leave me be. He’s a great coach.”
Ocala Sets the Stage for a Return
Clint Ainsworth has been Meg’s coach for 12 years, and he’s credited with his role in saving Marley.
Now, thanks to a wonderful team of vets, the quick thinking of her trainer, and the incredible spirit of the horse, Meg and Marley picked right back up where they stopped.
“She and I have an understanding,” Meg reveals. “She’s a sensitive mare and I know that about her. Our mannerisms and energy work well together because I’m calm and quiet, and she tends to be a little hot. So when we go into a class, I just take that into consideration, knowing that if I go in too hard, I’m going to get a hard result. So we just try to go in and be accurate and it’s a good partnership.”
The pair are also back doing what they love. Showmanship is Meg’s favorite event, and she says it’s Marley’s favorite class, too. “She’s ears up all the time, licking her lips, and she’s a queen all day in the showmanship.”
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Congratulations to Meg and Marley! View their winning run at the 2022 AQHA World Show when Megan won her first Gold Globe:
