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WINONA LAKE - Katie Grossnickle, 13, Winona Lake, will compete in the 29th Annual American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship Show and Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday through Aug. 12.
Grossnickle will be among 2,000 youths, ages 18 and under, from the United States, Canada and several other countries participating in the show. She will compete with her American Quarter Horse "Shot to the Top," a 10-year-old bay gelding, in western pleasure, western horsemanship and English equitation.
No one else in the Warsaw area has been invited to compete in this competition. In fact, only 22 kids in Indiana were invited this year.
Katie's mother, Lori Grossnickle, said Katie has been riding horses all her life and "is very active in Elkhart County 4-H." She has competed in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
Katie also has a trainer, Jim Garner, New Paris, who works with Katie and several other youth and amateurs frequently.
"She's been riding since she was little," Lori said. "I rode with her when I was pregnant."
And all that riding has paid off for Katie, taking her to competition in Texas. "They have to be 12," Lori said of the competition. "So she's one of the younger ones."
"(While in Texas,) she'll be doing western pleasure and western horsemanship," Lori said. Katie also will be an alternate in English equitation. Lori said her daughter hasn't competed in any of these areas before.
Western pleasure is a performance class "where they walk, trot and canter."
Katie will be judged on individual performance and will have a chance to practice a designated routine and "then come into the arena and do it."
English equitation will be very similar. Katie will be given a pattern to perform, and once again, will be able to practice before competing for the judges.
"These things sound simple until you realize the perfection demanded and the amount of concentration (riding takes)," Lori said.
She also said judges will take each individual score and then do a deposit score, and will more than likely place the top 10.
"First place usually gets a saddle, a trophy and all kinds of stuff," Lori said. "A lot of different companies donate prizes to each class."
The AQHYA world championship show is an invitational event that serves as a showcase for top American Quarter Horse youth exhibitors, so competition is intense and exciting.
Katie has been competing for four years with the American Quarter Horse Congress, Columbus, Ohio. But, this is her first time competing in the AQHYA. Lori said the competition is "strictly on an invitational" basis, which is different than the competition Katie is used to. With the AQHC in Ohio, anyone can participate as long as an entry fee is paid.
But, at next week's competition, "the kids that are there (at the AQHYA) are all qualified to be there," Lori said. "The competition is quite high."
Lori said the competition is "geared more toward the older high school students because there's a college fair that goes on all week (in Texas)." She said scholarships are available to win at the competition.
Even though competition will be stiff, Lori said, "we're going for fun." She explained to Katie that this is her first year and "she understands she's very young."
"We're going to have a good time," Lori said. She said the competition is like the Olympics: just being there is an accomplishment. If Katie does bring home a trophy, it will be the "frosting on the cake."
"We're all excited," Lori said. "I've never been to Texas."
After the competition, Katie and her family will "take a bit of a break."
But, the break won't be forever. Labor Day weekend, Katie will compete in a four-day show in New Castle and another competition, "the featurities," also in New Castle in the third weekend of September. Katie also will ride in the young horse competition, which uses horses age 2 and 3. In this competition, Katie will ride with mostly adults.
Highlights of the show will air on "GMC America's Horse," AQHA's weekly television series on ESPN, at 1:30 p.m. (eastern daylight time) Aug. 30, Sept. 6 and Sept. 13.
Katie will leave Wednesday evening with her parents to travel to Texas. She will compete Aug. 8 and 9 and could be there until Aug. 12, when finals for western pleasure will take place.
"She's held her composure extremely well and we've always been impressed," Lori said. "We're just thrilled that we're going."
Katie Grossnickle is the daughter of Steve and Lori Grossnickle, Winona Lake, and will be in the eighthth grade this fall at Lakeview Middle School.
