Navier Stokes has never been to the AQHA World Championship Show. But that’s OK. His mother has.

Ferns Ruby has been the amateur world champion in jumping twice. The 23-year-old mare even made it back to Oklahoma City again this year for the amateur jumping, bringing along her son for his first World Show experience.

“’Ruby’ has been doing this for years,” said her owner Raymond Coutley of Lexington Park, Maryland.

Ruby was first in the draw for the amateur jumping finals November 9. Her time was good, but she had four faults.

“If it wasn’t for my yanking on the reins before fence two, she would have been clean, but it was rider error,” Raymond said.

When Raymond and “Navan” entered the arena fifth in the draw, Sharnai Thompson and Flamingo Bay had a time of 58.766.

“He was very spooky going down the chute. I could barely get him down it because this is his first time showing indoors,” Raymond said.

But once the horse was in the ring, he was a little more comfortable.

"I lost my stirrup a couple of times because he was all over the place. But we regained it, and he made it clean the first round. So I was very, very pleased with that.”

Their time was 59.949.

Returning for the jump off, Sharnai and Flamingo Bay were first, turning in an impressive time of 40.303. Next was Adelaide Moncrief and Steady Spirit with another clean run and a time of 44.843.

Raymond and a more relaxed Navan were third. They circled up a couple of times and then headed for their first jump.

“Before heading in, I talked it over with Alfred Hewitt, who is helping me here, on the strategy for the jump-off,” Raymond said. “There was an inside turn that we decided not to take because he was going to be fast anyways. It might have been chancey to have a rail down on that yellow skinny jump. So we went the long way around and it paid off.”

The pair turned in a time of 39.08, which held up for the next four rides.

Navan had won a world championship his first time out.

“He is a lot like his mother,” Raymond said. “He probably jumps as good as his mother. He can be a little high-strung but that’s not necessarily bad in a jumper. And with being a world champion, you put up with that a lot more.”

Raymond said he will definitely bring Navan back to next year’s World Show but this might be Ruby’s last.

“We’re going to wait and see, but I’ve got another one of her babies I want to bring to the World next year and since you can only ride two in the amateur, somebody gets to stay home and that may very well be Ruby,” Raymond said.