When I was competing for Congress Queen, I had the honor of representing the Ontario Quarter Horse Association. As my last stop before returning to Congress this year to pass on the crown it was only fitting that it should be an Ontario Show. The show was a great celebration of our show season and featured paybacks in almost every class as well as the culmination of the Ontario Amateur Quarter Horse Association Challenge sponsored by the Canadian Quarter Horse Association. It was so nice to catch up with OQHA members and share about my travels.
The Ontario Amateur Quarter Horse Challenge was a highlight of the show, it featured a showmanship class, an equitation class and a horsemanship class. To participate in this event exhibitors had to qualify at one of the qualifying events hosted at one of the Ontario shows earlier this year. At each of the qualifying events the top five scorers and the two highest level 1 scorers per event were invited to participate in the challenge which took place at this show. The patterns for the challenge were previous world show patterns. It was so exciting to see the Ontario exhibitors and horses step up to these complex patterns which we don’t often have the chance to try. It was definitely a great event and I want to congratulate everyone who competed. I am looking forward to watching the event again next year.
It was also to chat with so many of the Ontario youth of all ages. I took a picture with a baby who I had a photo with last year and is now a toddler. I also spoke to many of our Congress youth team members some who are excited to return to Congress for the first time since 2019 and others who are showing at the Congress for the very first time. It was so great to share in their excitement as they head to Columbus in a few short weeks.
We also celebrated our long time show secretary team of Sherrill Tisdale, Suzy Glaab and Carrie Farr. This was their final show after years of dedication and service to the quarter horse in Ontario. We were all emotional as we will all miss them greatly but excited for them and their well-deserved break.
I will say it was a little weird to sleep in my own bed and drive myself to the show, as that is definitely outside my normal routine when heading to a show as Congress Queen but it was a fun change of pace. I have been so honoured to have represented the All American Quarter Horse Congress and the Ontario Quarter Horse Association over the past year, and in a few short weeks I will be back in Ohio to pass on the crown. While I will miss seeing everyone at horse show so frequently, I am so excited for whoever takes on this role after me as it truly is an incredible experience. See you at Congress!
