Hunter Hack

First Select world championship for Annette Fowler

by Christine Hamilton
The American Quarter Horse Journal

Riding Lets Get Started, Annette Fowler of Azle, Texas, won her first AQHA world championship September 1, taking the 2012 Select world championship in hunter hack.

“My daughters moved up into the amateur division and I turned 50 a year-and-a-half ago,” Annette said in her Journal Winning Run. “Since they moved up, I had to move up, too.”

Lets Get Started, a 2004 gelding by Iron Enterprise, is actually Annette’s daughter, Casey’s, horse.

“My horse that I’ve been used to showing got injured, and that’s why my daughter and I started sharing this horse,” Annette explained. “It’s been a little bit of a learning process because he’s a little bit different than my mare was.

“It’s been a great year. Showing horses … is my favorite thing to do, and we do it as a family. My two daughters (Casey and Sierra) show, and my husband (Bruce) loves to go with us. It’s a family event all the time.”

She’s found she enjoys showing Select, especially for “the friendship.

“It’s a smaller group. I love going to all the shows and everyone being there. But it’s kind of nice riding with people your age. It’s been fun.”

Casey attends Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and Sierra attends Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Both ride on their schools’ equestrian teams.

“My husband and I have split shirts when they compete against each other, they are half orange and half purple,” Annette said. “The good thing is Sierra rides for the English team at TCU and Casey rides western for Auburn. They would never compete against each other (individually). We kind of have to pull for those events for that school when (the teams) are riding against each other.”

From Azle, Texas, the Fowlers have a building supply business that keeps them busy.

“If I’m not on a horse or traveling, we’re at the office,” Annette said.

Annette had a bunch of people to thank who helped her on the world championship road.

“First of all, (AQHA Professional Horseman) Chuck Briggs, my trainer, he’s been fantastic all along. And Casey, my daughter … she came in on Thursday to help me. She’s been riding him and giving me pointers on him, and she’s been awesome. And (AQHA Professional Horseman) Linda Crothers helped me in the hack.”

And at the top of the list: “My husband, for letting me do this and coming along with me."