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Tina Kaven's Personal Account of Winning the 2007 Congress Masters
Article taken from PleasureHorse.Com. Used with permission.

[From the desk of Tina Kaven]: I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to making my dreams come true with my win on 'Good Luck Girl' in this years congress masters class.

When I spotted her in the 2006 World Show Sale it was love at first sight for me, I HAD to have her... but as it turned out, I bid on her repeatedly but I didn't get the Final bid. I loved that filly so much I went over and sat with her at her stall after she sold to try and find out who the new owners were. I thought (and hoped) maybe I could convince them to put her in training with me, but no one came around for me to ask.

The next day...I was going to her stall again, when I bumped into JR Reichert, he asked me if I had room to take a horse home, I said 'yes', and he told me it was a Goodbar filly... I just looked at him and asked if it was the one that Becky Bailey had sold in the sale the night before... he affirmed it was, and he wanted to send her home for me to train! Wow! Was I thrilled! I didn't realize that I had been bidding against JR!

Through some very difficult times in the spring of '07, I knew that 'Good Luck Girl' was still waiting for me. I especially thank JR Reichert for believing in me, and staying loyal through all my trials, because thinking about the future with her and knowing that JR had faith in me, made those times easier. It really gave me something positive to strive for.

After my husband Bill had broke her out, and put a really solid foundation on the Good Luck Girl, I got started! (I don't usually ride them until they are well into their training.) She seemed destined for greatness from the start. Every day I worked with her it seemed like she knew the Master Plan from the word 'Go'... Bill was always telling me "she looks good, keep going"> That was nice to hear because I know Bill always shoots straight with me. He tells me 'the good, the bad, AND the ugly', so I knew she was something special when Bill would consistently tell me how good she looked. I truly enjoyed working with her... we nick-named her 'Merlot' because she is like a fine wine.

Going into, and just before, the Congress the routine was a little strange for me. It didn't seem like I was working very hard on her, and it made me wonder if I was even working hard enough. She was just so EASY - I could even ride her bridleless!

Everyone's dreams came true the night of the Masters. I knew I had a good ride, and both of my critics, Bill and JR, had smiles on their faces when it was over! So I knew if I had made those two happy with my ride, that I had done a pretty good job! When they called me out first I was SO thrilled! And winning the class was truly a dream come true!

Dave and Tiffani MacDonald recognized her greatness, while still at home, Dave was trying to buy her months before the Masters! I think when I let Tiffani have a ride on her, it really sold them to the fact that they had to have her! It looked like Tiffani could go show her THAT DAY! Dave finalized the purchase the day before the class! It was so exciting!

There were many people behind the scenes making it all happen as well, I would like to publicly thank my husband, Bill for all he has done and all his support, JR for the training opportunty, our farrier Adam Mathews, the Vet's Donnell and Frisbee at Equine Sports Medicine, Abby Van de Kief for all the help at Congress, and all of my cheerleading crew, including Mary Kay and Robin! And finally, the audience and the judges, for loving her as much as I do!

We are now on our way to hopefully repeat the ride at the World Show in the 2 Year Old Open Western Pleasure. We are so excited! The prelimaries go around on Tuesday the 13th of November, in Oklahoma City and in the Finals are the following day, Wednesday the 14th.

This horse and my fantastic circle of friends has taken me to places that one year ago seemed impossible. I am so greatful for this opportunity. I knew this horse was great the moment I saw her, and having these wonderful people in my life has made it all possible. Next year, Tiffani is going to show Merlot in the Non Pro Western, and I will take her in the Open WP, I know we'll have a great time!

Standardizing Western Pleasure

NSBA and AQHA Joint Meeting Planned to Develop Judging Standards - NSBA and AQHA have begun a joint project to develop a standardized system by which all Western Pleasure horses are judged and this will be the focus of a December meeting hosted by AQHA.

The top 100 riders from NSBA, the top 10 riders from the open Western Pleasure at AQHA’s World Show from the past three years and a team of judges specializing in Western Pleasure will be invited to participate in the meeting to be held in Amarillo , Texas December 18 and 19. Head carriage, cadence, gaits, transitions and overall expression have been interpreted differently over the years and these issues will be discussed to develop the judging standard for Western Pleasure.

The idea for this meeting came from a Western Pleasure task force that included David Dellin, Dianne Eppers, Denny Hales, Pete Kyle, JR Reichert and AQHA Executive Director of Judges Alex Ross and staff members Tim Archer and Doug McElreath. The group met in Dallas in September to begin this joint project and to discuss developing a video to illustrate industry standards for Western Pleasure. This collaborative effort between NSBA and AQHA is a positive step for the western show horse industry.

Exhibitors interested in attending the meeting can reserve a spot by contacting Shelly Spears (AQHA) at (806)-378-4712 or sspears@aqha.org. Travel and accommodations are the attendees’
responsibility. A dinner hosted by AQHA will be held December 18 at the new Hall of Fame & Museum. Tours of the AQHA will be available prior to the meeting on December 19.