A Trip to Albuquerque
By Krista Askenas
The Region Two Hippology and Judging team’s trip to the Arabian Youth National Championship show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was an enriching excursion filled with excitement and education. Although the twelve hour (or more) car ride was arduous, it offered a time to stop in scenic locations and stare out the window into the American southwest, ranging from pine forest in Flagstaff to rocky desert in Joshua Tree National Park. Team members Natalie Zavala and I arrived in New Mexico almost a week before the other members of the team, and it was straight to work caring for and riding our horses. Being our first year competing at Class A shows and Youth Nationals, we were elated just to attend, regardless of how many ribbons we went home with. Before the rest of the hippology kids drove out, Natalie and I caught Stan Morey’s judging clinic, which was an enlightening refresher of the AHA Rule Book and new issues in the show ring. Later that day we voted for new youth government leaders and listened to reports from various committees at the annual AHYA Convention. Region Two’s very own Flora Elmcolone was voted 2016 secretary of AHYA!
The rest of the hippology team arrived to New Mexico safe and sound the night before the big test, a national level hippology trivia exam open to anyone to take. There were two parts to the test, a written multiple choice and afterwards various stations featuring a range of topics. Some were as simple as parts of the horse, but some more difficult like parts of the cart, native costume, and identifying plants and samples of feed. Every age group got a separate level of difficulty, from ten and under to the trainer challenge. It was tough for all of us to wait overnight for our results! The very next day in center ring the team learned of our success: every one of us earned a Top Ten in our age group, Natalie Zavala won National Champion in 14-18, Danielle Garcia won Reserve Champion in 14-18, and Kate Day won Reserve Champion in 11-13. The most amazing part was that the top four scorers in the 14-18 age group were all five points apart, which shows just how competitive the quiz can be!
That afternoon the Region Two youth worked on our golf cart for the Parade of Regions, of which the theme was “Horsin’ Around the World.” Our region’s assigned country was Egypt, so we affixed a homemade pyramid atop the cart, donned our pharaoh apparel, and blasted “Walk Like an Egyptian” down Main Street. Even though our abounding spirit lost to a mariachi band, we all licked ice cream at the Ice Cream Social afterwards in the humid Albuquerque heat. The rest of the time the entire team was at Nationals we watched classes, which was a spectacle for the younger kids because they hadn’t seen such fancy horses, competitive disciplines, or giant classes before!
Following the departure of the rest of the hippology team, Natalie, Kate, who stayed to help out, and I still had to finish showing in our classes. Natalie won a Top Ten in Showmanship 11-13, but we both went home with more experience, a stronger work ethic, new friends, and most importantly a bright outlook towards our future with Arabian horses. A wise man once said, “You never lose, you either win or learn,” which is precisely what the Region Two Hippology Team learned, and what Natalie and I learned in the show ring.