Lane Kail and SS Walk the Line Earn NSBA Amateur Ranch Trail Championship at Congress

By Sarah Welk Baynum

In his first year competing as an amateur, Lane Kail is already making his mark at the All American Quarter Horse Congress.

Kail and SS Walk the Line won the NSBA Amateur Ranch Trail championship, adding a major title to a partnership that began after Kail’s family acquired the horse at Congress last year.

The pair started showing together in January, and Kail said from the beginning he felt SS Walk the Line would be a particularly good match for him.

“Pretty much from day one, we knew he was going to be a horse I would get along very well with,” Kail said. “He’s very sweet—he’s like a giant dog, sometimes in the worst ways because he can be a little nibbly and in your pocket. But he’s been amazing for me, and he’s helped me accomplish a lot of things I haven’t been able to do before. Winning this is a very big deal for me.”

Although their partnership is still new, SS Walk the Line has already given Kail a level of consistency and confidence that he said sets the horse apart.

“He’s a one-of-a-kind animal,” Kail said. “People ask me what I think about him, and right now it just leaves me speechless. I’ve never ridden or shown a horse of that caliber that has been that consistent, that honest and that talented.”

The championship is especially meaningful as Kail makes the transition from the youth ranks into his first amateur season. He previously earned a Congress championship in the Youth Working Western Rail in 2023, but entered this year knowing the amateur ranch division would bring another level of competition.

“Coming into my first amateur year, we knew there were a lot of very capable, high-caliber horses,” Kail said. “You look at the horses here, and so many of them have won at the World Show or have been very competitive. We had the opportunity for me to learn on some new horses this year, and this has worked out really well.”

In the Ranch Trail pen, Kail felt the pattern highlighted many of SS Walk the Line’s strongest qualities, particularly through the back, sidepass and tighter maneuvers.

“He’s so smooth feeling,” Kail said. “He’s a big horse, but he can whip around those corners and stay right in your hand. He’s right there the whole time and doesn’t try to mess with you. He’s very honest—he just wants to do his job.”

If there was one place Kail thought he might have left something on the table, it was the extended trot. Even there, however, SS Walk The Line’s size and stride made the maneuver feel different from how it ultimately appeared.

“I thought I could have gone a little more in my extended trot, but he’s so big and reaches so far that sometimes you feel like you’re not going anywhere,” Kail said. “Then you go back and watch the video and realize there actually was some speed to it.”

By the time Kail completed the final obstacle, he had little doubt that SS Walk the Line had delivered the kind of trip they were looking for.

“As soon as I put the rope back on the steer, I thought, ‘That’ll do,’” Kail said. “I loved everything about the pattern.”

 

Scoresheets: https://www.quarterhorsecongress.com/scoresheets