Memories from the NRHA 2009 Northwest Regional Affiliate Finals

Blue skies and 70°F during the day. By night, golden sunsets with pink fluffy cloudy reflecting rosy light on the foothills. Free exhibitor cocktail parties—free beer in etched glass beer mugs; Octoberfest dinners with complimentary Washington apple cobbler for dessert; hanging out with our good friends Dan and Sue; cheering on our fellow Washingtonians as they competed and thrilling when they placed; petting puppies and admiring everyone’s dogs; shopping through the many fun venders including furniture, fancy high-end chaps, pictures, saddle and tack shops, book companies and so many more; cheering on a young upcoming reining trainer in the futurity, then experiencing that sinking dull feeling as we watched him accidentally do five spins (instead of four); seeing a photo of me and my horse used as a promotion for the show photographer...

These are just some of my memories from the 2009 National Reining Horse Association’s Northwest Regional Affiliate Finals held in Nampa, Idaho at the beautiful Idaho Horse Park this past October. In order to compete in the affiliate classes you had to be one of the top five in your club class—Felix and I qualified in three classes. And how did Felix and I do? Well, we tied for first in an NRHA Limited Non-Pro class. In our affiliate classes we didn’t do as well, although I was proud of our runs and of my horse. In a field of nearly 80 competitors, Felix and I got 7th in the Affiliate Novice Horse Non-Pro class—the payout and invitation to compete in Oklahoma City at the year end world show went to 6th place. I missed it by ONE place!! In all of my classes I was just very pleased to have qualified and made it that far, especially with a horse I had only been riding and showing since March. Felix tried hard and we both had a lot of fun. Felix is an awesome little pony, just taking everything in stride. Plus he’s so much fun to ride—quite an honor to have him to show!