Flying to Oklahoma City from Austria, Peter and Milena Kalat had one thing in mind: seeing the trail classes.
Peter won a trip for two to the AQHA World Championship Show during a horse show at Gerold Dautzenberg’s ranch in Germany.
The trip was awarded by AQHA in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Austrian Quarter Horse Association’s affiliation with AQHA through a lottery, and winning it gave Peter and Milena the chance to see their favorite class and see their favorite trainer again.
“We have a horse from California,” Milena said, “and this horse was trained by Cynthia Cantleberry.”
When Milena and Peter bought Trimmed In Silk from Cynthia six years ago, they left the mare at Cynthia’s place for the first three years so they could show in trail classes in the United States.
“That was the first time that I saw how difficult the trail (classes) are here,” Milena said.
To increase the difficulty of trail classes in Austria, where the class is not as popular as reining or other events, Peter began designing trail courses in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
“They are not so difficult as here or on the ranch,” Peter said. “(But) the level is now a little bit higher than three or four years ago.”
Milena, who is a scientist for a pharmaceutical company, and Peter, who is a software consultant, had a limited number of vacation days for their World Show trip, so they chose FedEx Open Week so they could see Cynthia.
They got the unexpected bonus of seeing Oklahoma City.
“This is the first time we have visited Oklahoma City,” Milena said. “I told Peter I would like to visit it again.”
In the past, Milena and Peter, along with other Quarter Horse enthusiasts in Austria, have watched the World Show on the Fort Dodge Web cam.
“And we read the results every day,” Milena said.
It’s all part of an attempt to learn more and maintain closer connections with AQHA.
“Austrian Quarter Horse Association is a very small association,” Kalat said, “and I think it’s important to have a connection to America, that we can develop more and more informed and better horses in Austria.”
