Addison Harr Triumps at 2026 AQHYA World with Al Be In First Class
By Delores Kuhlwein
The phrase “poetry in motion” could have been written just for Addison Harr. The youth rider, who shows under the guidance of Ryan Painter Show Horses, is spectacular to watch as she guides her enormous, athletic steeds through their paces and over fences.
Addison may have made a name for herself in AQHA Youth circles with Pretty Good Payback, the 2015 bay gelding (Total Payback – These Irons R Pretty by These Irons Are Hot), but now that she’s in the irons of Al Be In First Class, she has proven her grit and talent on yet another horse, this time a green mare.
The duo also won the L3 Working Hunter Under Saddle at the 2025 AQHYA World Show, an indicator of their future success.
Her newest mount, a 2021 bay mare by The Mile High Club and out of Al Always Be Good (by Good I Will Be) gained fame with Ryan Painter as the 2025 National Snaffle Bit Association High Point Green Working Hunter Horse. “June” was bred Sandra Morgan of Ocala, Florida, and she now has truly become Addison’s partner.
“It was very hard to learn to ride a greener horse from previously winning a bunch on my last horse,” Addison reveals. “But after letting Ryan get her fit and ready for me, it all worked out perfectly. So I’m just glad she’s my horse now. She’s very fun to ride.”
The 2026 AQHYA World Show has been a great demonstration of how well it has worked out between them, as Addison and June kicked off the show by earning a gold globe in L3 Youth Working Hunter, a class with 45 entries. In fact, it was the first gold globe won of the 2026 AQHYA World Show.
They followed it up with a Reserve World Championship in L3 Hunter Hack, a class of 44, and they finished their show by winning the L3 Working Hunter Under Saddle Finals Sunday afternoon. They’d qualified to ride in the finals earlier in the week in the Prelims from a field of 42.
Becoming such an accomplished rider at her age is multi-faceted, and as one might guess, it takes a high level of fitness. Addison says she manages to stay fit enough to ride as she does via another sport. “At home I actually do flag football and it’s a really athletic sport. I have a lot of friends there and it’s very competitive too, like this sport. It keeps me very fit.”
She admits she does get tired some days, but she rides six days a week, and she has different horses to ride at home, which makes it fun. But when asked if she ever wants to give up, even when it gets hard, her “no” is adamant.
“I never want to give up; I want to keep going. My mom always tells me to keep going, so it always inspires me.”
Ryan’s calm demeanor is another motivator for Addison. She explains, “Whenever I do something wrong, he tells me how to fix it, I take a deep breath and go back out there and fix it. He always tells me when I’m doing a good job and comes back with a positive.”
Most of all, she wants to say thank you to her mom, to everyone at home watching, and to everyone who helps her.
Watch Addison’s L3 winning rides, and view results and score sheets below:
L3 Youth Working Hunter:
Watch the video: https://www.aqha.com/-/working-hunter-level-3-2026?redirect=%2Fyouth-world%2F2026%2Flevel-3%2Fenglish
Results: https://www.aqha.com/documents/82601/b9e6b1b7-95d7-1637-16cb-38e16bd09af6
Score sheets: https://www.aqha.com/documents/82601/411aee67-3f48-72fe-db46-2d2dc373ab38
L3 Working Hunter Under Saddle Finals:
Watch the video: https://www.aqha.com/-/working-hunter-under-saddle-2026?redirect=%2Fyouth-world%2F2026%2Flevel-3%2Fenglish
