Wilmington, Ohio
Pictured: Olivia Tordoff, AQHYA Representative, Dr. Scott Myers, AQHA Executive Committee member, and Rhonda Replogle, trainer at Rhonda Replogle Show Horses
The L1 Championships are magical moments for many exhibitors, and this past weekend we welcomed 2,700 entries to the Roberts Arena in Wilmington, Ohio.
From halter, to western pleasure, to equitation, trail, and hunter hack, hundreds of exhibitors came with dreams of joining those individuals from Oklahoma City (L1 central) and Las Vegas (L1 west) as a 2018 L1 Champion.
For me, the week was filled with many emotions. During one of my first awards presentations, I had an exhibitor stand for a picture with her finalist medallion. With tears in her eyes she exclaimed how hard she had worked for the last two years to come and attend a L1 Championship. This was her goal, her dream. I can attest that she had earned that moment.
As many more exhibitors shared in these same feelings of accomplishment throughout the week, it truly put into perspective why these types of world shows truly matter.
I am proud of each and every exhibitor who left feeling empowered, accomplished, and worthy. I hope you are equally as proud of your successes and learning moments, as well as made some new friends along the way!
And a special thank you to all of my queen sisters for sharing in these special memories with me <3
Also, side note, for those of you who may have missed me this week, I had to drive back up to Columbus, Ohio to graduate! Extremely thankful for the Ohio Quarter Horse Association for supporting me as a queen and as a college student!
If you are attending the SOQHA Challenge or the Madness, remember to check out the Congress Classroom! OQHA is delighted to provide wifi and other resources to help youth and amateurs keep up with their academic studies!
Master's of Arts from The Ohio State University
Next Up: fundraising at Nationwide Children's Hospital!