Among all the classes held on Monday, August 12, at the NSBA World Championship Show and Breeders Championship Futurity was the debut of the Amateur Walk Trot Western Pleasure. The class saw 15 entries and stiff competition in the Ford Truck Arena.
However it was a 73 year old woman in a red and white show shirt and black chaps aboard a six year old bay gelding in the inaugural class - Connie Nanney and Speak Softlee, of Austin Arkansas - who took the top spot.
“I started showing when I was a young kid, but when you get to be a momma, your priorities change,” Connie said. “All three of my daughters ride, but there was about a 30 or 40 year span there where I was busy being a mom and providing horses for my girls.
“One of my daughters had an old gaited horse named John Edward, and one day my daughter told me I should start showing John Edward, so I did. Then my good friend Jackie Thompson, who showed with us here and placed eighth in the class, told me she had an old Pleasure mare out in the pasture, and that I needed to start riding her and learn how to ride, so we did that for a while.”
After purchasing a horse that was unable to stay sound, and owning another horse that her daughter soon took over, Connie purchased Speak Softlee, who is known as George, and Connie seriously began her showing journey. It was not an easy journey, however.
“Three years ago, I was at the State Show in Arkansas and went to practice on George and he started bucking and threw me,” she explained. “I broke seven ribs, punctured my lung and got a rod in my hip. But I got back on and have been riding ever since. We ride with Cory Everhart, and he has just been great. He has made my horse and I owe him everything.”
Since her comeback, Connie has shown at local shows in Arkansas as well as large ones like the Big A/Stars N Stripes in Conyers, Georgia. She recently won the circuit award in Amateur Walk Trot Western Pleasure at both circuits. “We’ve come here to the NSBA, and we’re on our way to the Congress,” she said.
When asked what she enjoys most about coming back to the show pen, Connie explained “I just enjoy the excitement of it. I love it. I also enjoy having my daughters with me. Two of my daughters ride with me, and it’s just a family event.”
Cory was impressed with his client’s performance in the class. “I thought she had an amazing ride today,” he said. “George was very solid for her. He walked good and jogged good. Connie had just gotten out of rehab when I first got her horse and started working with her, so we’ve been working together for about three years. We’ve been to a lot of horse shows, and she’s won a lot of circuit awards and a Congress reserve championship.
“We love having this class at the NSBA World Show. There’s a lot of horses that wouldn’t get to show if it wasn’t for this class, and a lot of people who wouldn’t get to show if it wasn’t for this class. I think it’s great that it’s being treated like any other world show class, with the trophies and the buckles and awards. We hope they keep it for a long time!”
The NSBA World Championship Show is also hosting its inaugural Amateur Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle and Amateur Walk Trot Trail at this year’s show.
The NSBA World Championship Show and Breeders Championship Futurity continues through Sunday, August 18. To view the complete show schedule, complete show results or view the live video feed during show hours, please visit nsba.com.
