Friday at the 2025 APHA World Championship Show, Elite Show Horses’ Paul Alexander cinched not only one World Championship, but three! He and One Good Cowboy grabbed the top spots in both Green Western Riding and Intermediate Green Western Riding for Darcie Winiewicz. He was also the NSBA Champion in the event.
The best part is that Paul also became a World Champion for the first time.
“This was a huge shock, and it feels great,” says Paul. “I’ve shown him five or six times this year, and he has been great every time I’ve shown him.”
One Good Cowboy, who has been in the Elite Show Horses program for a couple of years, stays in Paul’s string all the time, and they have a good bond. Paul says he likes Western Riding because “it’s a little out of control, and we’re galloping on, so it takes me back to my roots as a kid in Hunter Jumpers. It’s fun getting them to move their bodies around and getting them set up to do the lead changes. It’s challenging, yet fun.”
To prepare for a class focusing on lead changes, he says he changes leads every day or he doesn’t feel ready. “This horse changes leads every single day, and even if I have one that isn’t showing the western riding, we still change leads each day. It keeps us in time and ready.”
See results for the class below: