Wiping away tears of joy, Marilyn L. Swick claimed her first world championship in her first year of pleasure driving.
Driving Luke Wise, a 2001 brown gelding, Marilyn spun around the Amarillo National Center on September 2, wearing a black costume with gold accents.
“He was a good boy,” she said. “He did very well. I was very proud of him. He was relaxed; I couldn’t have asked for a better deal.”
Marilyn has been riding “Luke” in hunter under saddle, hunt seat equitation and hunter hack, but she hadn’t been driving him, leaving that to trainer Kevin Duke. Luke had placed seventh in the 2006 AQHA World Championship Show in junior pleasure driving.
“He drove before I did, so I just thought that I should learn, add it to his repertoire,” she said. “I love it. It feels free and breeze and feeling him extend his trot just feels great. I love it.”
Hugging her husband, Todd, Marilyn said she intended to continue celebrating her win the way she began it.
“(I’m going to) cry,” she said, “and just be with my husband and Kevin and everybody in the barn.”
