REINING

SHELBY ST. HILAIRE WINS HER FIRST YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

BY TONYA RATLIFF-GARRISON, FIELD EDITOR 

Shelby St. Hilaire and NQH Little Jac were the leaders coming out of the reining prelims with a 220. They won the reining finals with a 220.5.

This was the second Ford AQHYA World Championship Show Shelby St. Hilaire had shown at.

“I just came to get experience,” the 14-year-old said.

What she learned must have paid off. Shelby made her second trip to Fort Worth, Texas, this year and will be going back home to Yamhill, Oregon, with a youth world championship trophy.

“I’m still kind of in shock,” Shelby said after she and NQH Little Jac won the reining finals on August 8. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.”

Shelby and “Little Jac” entered the John Justin Arena ninth in a draw of 16. They were the first after the drag.

“I was happy because I had fresh ground, and I could map out where I wanted to go better,” she said.

Leading were Emily Winegar and Good Time Show Girl with a 218. Shelby decided to push Little Jac a little harder than she did in the prelims, in which they marked a 220.

“He tried really, really hard, and he did everything as hard as he could,” Shelby recalled. “His turns were really good, and I thought they were better than my prelims. I felt like I did better in his circles because I pushed him harder and kind of went for it more. In his stops, he ran a lot harder. He just really tried a lot harder for me.”

With the crowd behind her the whole way and her father, Tom, shouting encouragement from the stands, Shelby gave Little Jac a big pat on the shoulder as she pulled him from his back up.

As they walked out of the arena and up the alley, the score was announced: a 220.5. Their lead held through the next seven riders.

“It was just pretty awesome,” Shelby said. “I like reining, and I like trying harder every time. This was just great.”