AUBURN, Ala. – Check out what our western riders have been up to in the final edition of summer update for this crew.
Four returning Horsemanship competitors had a successful end to a busy summer away from the Plains in Taylor Searles, Deanna Green, Kelsey Jung and Kara Kaufmann, while freshman Emma Brown brought a wealth of hardware with her at the start of the school year.
Searles, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz., put an exclamation in her final season on the youth circuit, starting with the AQYHA Ford Youth World Championship, Aug. 2-11, in Oklahoma City. She captured a pair of world champion titles, coming in Western Riding and Western Pleasure.
In addition, she took home reserve world champion in Hunter Under Saddle and finished Top 10 in Horsemanship. Searles was also a finalist in Showmanship, Trail and Hunt Seat Equitation.
Searles capped the summer at the NSBA World Championship, Aug. 10-19, in Tulsa, Okla. She took home two more world titles, coming in Youth Western Pleasure and Youth Hunter Under Saddle. She finished third in Youth Western Riding, fourth in Youth Trail and fifth in Youth Hunt Seat Equitation.
Brown also found success at both the AQYHA and NBSA shows in August. The Zanesville, Ohio, native was world champion at the AQYHA show, winning the top prize in Trail. She finished the AQYHA year as high point winner in Youth Trail and Youth Performance Halter Geldings. Brown as reserve high point winner all around.
To add to her success in Youth Trail, Brown captured another world title in the event at the NBSA show. She also took home bronze in Youth Showmanship. Brown finished on top of the points standings in Youth Trail and was reserve in Youth Western Pleasure.
Green, a sophomore from Pilot Point, Texas, picked up a world title at the NSBA meet. The 2018 SEC Freshman Horsemanship Rider of the Year took home the Maturity Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure crown while in Tulsa.
Jung opened her summer at the Sun and Surf Circuit in Del Mar, Calif., May 17-20. While there, she earned four Top 3 finishes in Amateur Hunt Seat Equitation, including on first-place finish. Jung also captured the Amateur Showmanship title at the EMO Western States Championship in Las Vegas earlier in July.
Kaufmann, a junior from Belvidere, N.J., found success on a new horse this summer at the Big A Show in Conyers, Ga., July 3-8. She finished Top 10 in Amateur Horsemanship and Top 5 in Western Pleasure.