The Level 1 East Championship Show at the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, Ohio was a weeklong of watching many exhibitors’ dreams come true! For some it was getting to show at a world-class facility, riding your horse up to the Starbucks ride through, or leaving the pen with the championship neck ribbon. It certainly gave me a large dose of inspiration to prepare for me to enter the show pen next year at this show with my mare. This show featured the debut of my electric scooter, and my feet were thankful! The facility is massive but has the horse in mind with padded walkways, high quality footing, and more riding arenas than I can count! I say this after every show but reuniting with show staff that work at the Congress is extra special and are truly some of the kindest individuals I know as they are the biggest cheerleaders for the exhibitors. My favorite part of the show was getting to present awards with fellow association queens, both returning and new. We had so much fun together filming outfits of the days, TikToks, and Congress Queen Contest sponsor visits. Thank you to Riley, Ashton, Gabrielle, Emma, Paige, Leah, Morgan, Addison, Marisa, and Mateer for making sure each exhibitor feel recognized and special about their achievements! We also got a visit from Jaymie Drury, the director of the Congress Queen Contest! While awarding I got to meet future queen contests and am so happy to see how much excitement for the contest is growing! One thing about me is that I love backdrop photos, I think it is such a beautiful way to capture a memory. I have decided I am going to get a backdrop photo at each show I attend. All the equine media outlets did such a great job capturing winning and candid moments. I was featured in a reel on AQHA’s social media for high fiving each exhibitor in the small fry western pleasure. This was a super cute moment to remember to encourage the future of our industry. The funniest moment has to be when we were presenting awards for the reining in the outdoor on quite a windy day that my hat and crown flew off my head! Thank you to AQHA for having me at this show and giving me another inside glimpse at all that it takes to put on a high-quality show! Of course, I had to visit the AQHA store to buy a Level 1 T-Shirt and beautiful Montana Silversmith concho necklace. Time truly does fly when your having fun, I enjoyed all the exhibitor parties including seeing my OQHA family, and evening scooter rides around the grounds.
Next Stop: All American Youth Show!
Much Love, Madison.
