Youth horse exhibitors shine at 2023 Wyoming State Fair

During the first two days of Wyoming State Fair (WSF), youth horse exhibitors had the opportunity to showcase their talents in performance, halter and showmanship classes. 

The shows kicked off on Aug. 14, running well into the following day, and multiple horse showmen saw their hard work pay off.

Senior performance horse results

Performance horse shows featured everything from hunter, Western, ranch riding, trail riding and gymkhana events, split into divisions based on exhibitor age. 

In the senior performance horse show division, Kaitlyn Snyder of Gillette was named Grand Champion Hunter Under Saddle and the reserve champion was Cody’s Avalon Ponce. 

In hunt seat equitation, Tess Palen of Glendo was the senior champion and Lindsey Thomas of Henry, Neb. was the reserve champion.

Anna Kassens of Shoshoni was named champion in senior hunt hack, while Isabelle Loeffler of Cheyenne earned honors as reserve.

In ranch riding, Buffalo’s Mattie Bloomgren was crowned champion in the senior division and Kate Budge of Kelly finished reserve.

Thomas took home the grand champion title in senior Western pleasure and Snyder was the reserve champion.

Thomas was also named grand champion in the senior division of Western horsemanship and Bloomgren was named reserve.

In Western riding, Hailey Turner of Upton was crowned senior division champion and Bloomgren was reserve.

In the senior division of the reining competition, Budge earned first-place honors and Snyder was reserve.

Budge also took home honors as grand champion in the senior trail class, with Bloomgren following behind as reserve.

An impressive run by Sheridan’s Amia Koltiska in barrel racing earned her a first-place finish and Loeffler came in second. 

Taylor Malcolm of Rawlins earned a first-place finish in the pole bending, followed by Cheznee Mackey of Evanston in second. 

Budge and Thomas were respectively named champion and reserve champion in the senior division of the working cow horse class, and with only two entries in senior breakaway, Laramie’s Glade Parker and Turner finished first and second, respectively. 

In senior ranch sorting, Laramie brothers Glade and Sawyer Parker earned champion honors, while Shoshoni’s Anna Kassens partnered with Snyder for a second-place finish.

Goat tying rounded out senior performance horse events. 

In the event, Stacy Ruggles of Laramie was named champion and Royal Kremers of Lance Creek was reserve. 

Intermediate performance horse results

In the intermediate hunter under saddle class, Izabelle Pedri of Rock Springs was named champion and Teagin Savage of Cheyenne was reserve

The intermediate division champion and reserve champion of the hunt seat equitation class, respectively, were Miranda Smith of Harrison, Neb. and Savage.

Taebyn McGinley of Rozet was named Intermediate Ranch Riding Champion, while Cord Smith of Douglas was Intermediate Ranch Riding Reserve Champion.

McGinley was again named the champion during the Western pleasure class and Pedri was reserve. McGinley took home a third intermediate champion title in Western horsemanship, with Smith in reserve.

In reining, Smith was named champion and Rozet’s Amara Hohnhorst was reserve, and the champion of the intermediate trail class was McGinley, while Riverton’s Ryker Crimm finished reserve. 

Intermediate riders were also able to compete in three gymkhana events – barrel racing, pole bending and goat tying.

The barrel racing champion was Remington Prince of Riverton, with Sheridan’s Madyson Dupuis in reserve. Prince and Dupuis also took home first- and second-place honors, respectively, in pole bending, and Dupuis won both the champion and reserve champion titles in intermediate goat tying on two separate horses.

Junior performance horse results

In junior hunter under saddle, Maeve Kavanagh of Jackson was crowned champion, while Jade Davis of Laramie finished reserve.

Kavanagh was again named the champion in hunt seat equitation and Riverton’s Brogan Crimm was the reserve champion. 

With two entries in hunter hack, Greta Kassens of Riverton and Quinn Schneider of Cheyenne earned grand and reserve honors, respectively. 

Quinn Schneider of Cheyenne was grand champion in the junior ranch riding class and Eirwen Barney of Lander was reserve.

In Western pleasure, Scheider was again crowned champion and Jade Davis of Laramie was reserve. 

Will Kruse of Lance Creek was the Western horsemanship champion in the junior division, followed by Barney as reserve. 

Deklan McGinely of Rozet was the champion in Western riding and Schneider was reserve. 

Kruse earned another grand champion finish in junior reining, followed by Brayson Bilodeau of Worland in reserve. 

Bilodeau had another impressive showing in junior trail, earning champion honors in the division. He was followed by Sage Derner of Burns as reserve. 

Laramie’s Leica Floy had a first-place finish in barrel racing, followed by Macy Jane Kavanagh of Jackson in second. 

Macy Jane also earned second-place honors in junior pole bending behind her sister Maeve.

Halter horse results

In the WSF Youth Halter Horse Show, classes were split by breed and gender. 

Peptolena Gin Badger, shown by Pedri, was the Champion Quarter Horse Mare, and Rockin A Fever, shown by Thomas was the reserve champion. 

Smith exhibited the Champion Quarter Horse Gelding, BB, and Stormy, shown by Merrilee Michael of Douglas, was the Reserve Champion Quarter Horse Gelding. 

Carolina and Carla Navarro, a pair of sisters from Gillette, had the champion and reserve champion mares of any other breed (AOB) with Princessa and Lucy, respectively. 

To conclude the halter show, Casper’s Viviana Christensen exhibited the Champion AOB Gelding by the name of Pal, and Kristina Hall of Torrington’s gelding Miracle was the reserve champion.

FFA and 4-H showmanship 

In FFA showmanship, Carla Navarro was crowned grand champion and Emma Valois of Cheyenne was reserve. 

For junior 4-H showmanship, Barney took home champion honors and Bilodeau received reserve champion honors. 

McGinley was crowned Champion Intermediate 4-H Showman, while Aspyn Hamilton of Worland earned herself a reserve champion finish. 

Moving up into the senior class, Thomas received honors as champion and Hall was reserve champion. 

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.