Kayla Kelly has longed for a youth world championship ever since her brother, Michael, won one in stake racing in 2002.

“I’ve been wanting this for a very long time,” the 15-year-old said. “I’ve won three years in a row at Congress in pole bending but I’ve never been able to do it here.”

The best Kayla had done is when she and her gelding, Gay Bar Script, took the reserve title in pole bending at the 2006 Ford AQHYA World Championship Show.

“But I wanted the gold,” Kayla said.

Coming into the pole bending finals on August 7, Kayla and “Bullet” had the fourth best time of 20:632.

“I knew I had to run hard no matter what happen,” she said. “If I hit a pole, it wasn’t meant to be, and if I didn’t win it wasn’t meant to be.”

She and Bullet shot out of the gate so fast that Kayla’s hat was hanging on by the stampede string. With the crowd cheering her on, Bullet kept up the fast pace as he whipped back and forth between the poles.

Running for home, Kayla leaned forward and asked for more speed from the 18-year-old gelding. He gave it to her. As they passed beneath the gate, their time flashed on the clock: 19:726.

“It was great,” Kayla said. “It’s the best time I’ve ever run.”

Their combined time of 40:358 put them in the lead, and through the next nine horses, it held. Kayla had finally won a youth world championship.

“I’ve been wanting this for so long,” she said.

But last fall, she wasn’t sure it would be Bullet who would take her to that first world title.

The gelding was diagnosed with bone spurs in his knees and the veterinarian thought the horse would never run again.

“He was pretty much crippled but in November we got it removed with surgery and he came back pretty strong,” Kayla said.

And she’s glad he did.

“He’s a really loving horse,” she said of Bullet. “If I ask him to do it, he’ll do it.”

Kayla has three more years she can show at the Ford Youth World but now that she’s won a world championship, will she come back?

“Oh, yes,” she said with a smile. “I want another.”