Ramona girls win at horse show in Texas
Three Ramona girls came home winners from the American Paint Horse Association’s Youth World Championship (AjPHA) show in Texas.
Catalina Gonzalez
, 12, won a world championship title in the Novice Youth Reining 18 & Under class and a second world championship title in the Reining 13 & Under group. Catalina, the daughter of Dr. Jaime and Patricia Gonzalez, performed with her horse, Illegal Reward, a 2000 gelding. In the competitions, she was judged on correctly performing a selected pattern, including lead changes, transitions in speed, sliding stops, backing, roll-backs, and multiple spins. Novice youth are classified as competitors ages 18 and under who have not earned a specified amount of points in APHA-approved competition, and are required to show a horse they personally own or is owned by a family member.
Kayleigh Ward
, daughter of Don and Pam Brown, earned Reserve World Champion in the 18 and Under working cow horse competition. This was the last year the 19-year-old was eligible to show in the 18 & Under competition. Kayleigh, who performed with her horse, Docs Love Letters, also placed sixth in the Youth Reining 14 to 18.
Meryl Hubbard
, the 11-year-old daughter of Paul and Chris Hubbard, took home several awards. With her horse, He’s Perfectly Hot, she won third place in the English Equitation Walk-Trot, seventh place in the Hunter Under Saddle Walk-Trot, ninth in the Western Horsemanship Walk-Trot, and was a finalist in the Trail Walk-Trot, said her trainer, Roslyn Proffer-Holloway of Ramona.
All three girls are trained by Proffer-Holloway, who owns Roslyn Proffer-Holloway Show Horses.
“It’s very exciting to take three kids and all of them come home with such stellar accomplishments,” said the trainer. “It’s fun taking the kids cause there’s so much excitement with them.”
The AjPHA Championships were held June 29 to July 6 in Fort Worth. The association hosts two annual world shows to showcase the talents of American paint horses and their owners. This year’s youth championships consisted of 263 horses and 1,141 entries.
Proffer-Holloway said the girls will be performing at a horse show in Temecula in October.