BY TONYA RATLIFF-GARRISON, FIELD EDITOR
Paige Monfore sat up in her seat as the next reining finalist entered the John Justin Arena. It was her friend, Tara Christiansen, and Paige was there to cheer her on.
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| Paige Monfore watches her friend, Tara Christiansen, perform in the reining finals on August 8. |
However, sitting in the stands is not where Paige wished to be. She would rather have been in the arena competing against Tara.
“I didn’t make it into the finals again,” the 18-year-old said. “This was my fifth Youth World, my last Youth World, and I’ve never made it back.”
Since 2003, Paige has competed in reining at the Ford AQHYA World Championship Show. She fondly remembers that first Youth World Show.
“One of my friends had gotten a hold of me and was like, ‘You should go to the Youth World. It’s so much fun,’” the York, Nebraska, youth recalled. “Nothing beats the first year that I came. It was amazing and overwhelming, and I think that’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”
The first thing that struck Paige about Ford Youth World was finding others with similar interests.
“When you come, it’s all people pretty much your age who are just like you and are doing what they love just like you,” she said.
“Where I come from, not very many people ride horses, and no one understands why I spend all of my time riding horses. Then to come here and everyone knows what you’re talking about, and everyone knows what you’ve gone through ... it’s just wonderful.”
And because of Ford Youth World, Paige has made many friends.
“You meet so many different people here,” she said. “For example, the other day I was warming up and I just turned around and it was like, ‘Hey, What’s up?’ to whomever was next to me. It was a kid from Idaho, and we just started talking.”
Although Paige enjoys the camaraderie of Youth World, she still comes to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete and hopefully win that coveted world title. Each year, she had high hopes to make it back to the finals, but her dreams have never been realized. Some years, she missed the finals by only half a point. Other years, it was because she or her horse caused a penalty that put them out of the top 15.
“I guess you come with a vision of winning, of course,” she said. “That’s your mentality. So it’s hard to come and not do as well as you want. It gets frustrating because you’re out there every day, putting in your hours, putting in your time and you know you have the talent to back you, and it just stinks to not make it back by half a point, or because your horse doesn’t perform when you are at your best.”
But you can’t give up, Paige emphasized.
“You still can enjoy it,” she said. “You know, everyone makes a big deal of being in the finals but my thing is there are 100 kids in that class and there are a lucky 15 that make it to the finals. The other 85 are sitting in the stands with me, so you’ve got to be proud. I’m one of the 100 out of how many million kids in the nation who get to be in a special place like this and get to have the opportunity to be in Fort Worth and compete.
“To me, that’s the most important thing. You’ve got to remember that you’re one of the few that gets to be here and sometimes it’s not about who wins and loses. It’s about what you take from the experience. It’s the time when you get to look back and be like, ‘Look what I accomplished.’”
And one of the things Paige has accomplished with her riding is a scholarship to Auburn University, where she’ll be on the equestrian team.
“I can’t say I ever won a Youth World title but I can say I’m going to college with a scholarship,” she said. “And how many people can say they are going to ride in an NCAA Division I sport. I don’t know many.”
As the 16 finalists came forward to receive their awards after the reining event, Paige stood up and cheered for each and every one.
“Tonight was disappointing, but I think my mindset right now is I tried as hard as I could, and I’m looking at the happy, good aspects of it and not at the downfalls,” she said.
“I feel lucky to have been here and to say that I lived and did this and experienced this and enjoyed this. And, you know what, I’m still going to win a world title one day. I’m going to kick butt and take home a belt buckle and trophy. It might be 20 years from now, but I will win one of those belt buckles if it’s the last thing I do.”
