PG . 15
2022 NPHA Limited Western Pleasure Stakes - Hayley Cove and ‘ Its A Pretty Thing ’ Q-94644
We took home four buckles , sashes and some beautiful trophies ! Normally I ’ d struggle with showpen nervousness , but I trusted Callie and enjoyed the ride . Thankfully , I ’ ve learned to overcome any pressure I put on myself , but my proudest moment was winning the Limited Open Western Pleasure Feature at NPHA , because I beat Taj !
I purchased my first ever horse from Kath back in 2012 , and I ’ m so lucky she believed in us enough to sell Callie to me after she ’ d made the decision to retire from breeding . That has been the best thing ever !’
We try to get to major shows like Summer Sizzler , Nationals , NPHA , Tropicana and the State Shows , the furthest travelling 18 hours to Tatura , Victoria . The shows this year have been amazing and we had a ball . The competition ’ s strong but everyone ’ s supportive and friendly . Q22 has a great atmosphere and we had the best time watching the Working Cow Horse event in the evening . At NPHA we had fun at the night time social events , and I enjoyed organising little games to encourage crowd participation .
There ’ s a lot of friendly rivalry at the shows , but I ’ ve made real friends from all over the country . It ’ s important to have a good team around you & a supportive , happy network of friends , who love the same things . This encourages success and boosts your confidence . It ’ s helped me control my nervousness , which improved my performances . It ’ ll be hard to top the amazing year we ’ ve had with Callie , but I ’ m going to do everything I can to keep improving my riding and enjoying her . This year , we ’ re excited to be starting Callie ’ s first foal , Cammie , to show Australia what an outstanding producer I know she will be .
Over the last 10 years , I ’ ve learnt so much from many different industry people , but I ’ m especially grateful to Kathleen Flynn , for her guidance and encouragement .
AQHA SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER ISSUE 2022