‘ Grub is a fantastic all-rounder , and as a rider I have always been willing to have a go at any discipline ! As a team , Grub and I compete in a number of QH events from Dressage , Hunter Under Saddle , Hunt Seat Equitation , Trail , Horsemanship and Western Pleasure . My favourite events are all the pattern events , and from those , my preference leans toward the Horsemanship and Hunt Seat Equitation classes . That ’ s mainly because those are events , I think , that reflect on the strength , capability and bond between horse and rider . I ’ ve always been a person who thrives to improve from feedback , so receiving the score sheet from a pattern event sets me up to work harder to improve before the next show .’
During the show season , Chloe ’ s aim is to exercise Grub at least 5-6 times a week , and she ’ ll do that for roughly an hour each session . Depending on how much time she has on her hands between University and working on the farm , Grub will get a lunge or a ride . She begins her warm-up sessions riding lots of squares and figures of eights with multiple transitions through each gait , and then likes to cool down with some Trail exercises at the end of each ride . Having no setbacks with Grub , Chloe says that that the only major setback is Covid , not only for herself , but for everyone in the industry .
‘ My education , while very important , was an obstacle that I had to work around , and that meant studying hard in Year 12 , and when starting University . That meant I ’ d have to miss out on a few of the big shows , regardless . Horses come before a lot of things in my life , so I continued to show , even during my busiest years of education . It just meant I couldn ’ t show on weekdays , or whilst exams and other important education events were happening .’
Living in a fairly isolated area , the Leethams are well used to travelling long distances , as are their horses . For instance , it ’ s 50km to town just for groceries and school . Their closest club is the Pioneer Country Quarter Horse Association , which is located in Swan Hill , Victoria , and 150km from home . Most weekends , travel to shows adds up to between 300-800km for shows across VIC , NSW and SA . Then there ’ s the long haul to AQHA Nationals which is 900km .
‘ With my first season with Grub ,’ Chloe explains . ‘ I initially had low expectations for placings at shows , simply because I ’ d planned on taking at least 12 months for us to get to know each other , and get settled with him . However , much to my surprise , we settled in very well with each other , sooner than I had expected , and we began to achieve some goals rather quickly .’
Relatively new into the the world of Quarter horse showing , Chloe is now competing in only her second show season . So , when she found out she ’ d won the NSW High Point Award for the category 1 Youth , it gave her a massive shock !
‘ It was a goal that I ’ d thought was just too unrealistic for me to achieve ,’ an emotional but excited Chloe says . ‘ But it was a special year for me to achieve it , because it was also my final year of being a Youth competitor , before stepping up to the Amateur level . I ’ m truly grateful to have been awarded the High Point Award , and wish to thank everyone along the road , who helped me make that goal such a wonderful reality .’
Chloe and Grub ’ s first major show together was the NSW State Show , and she was blown away with their results , and with Grub , winning the Senior Youth Trail , Senior Youth Western Pleasure and Senior Youth Horsemanship . Their next major show , was the 2021 Quarter Horse Nationals , where Chloe ’ s dreams became reality . The pair won the Senior Youth Hunt Seat Equitation and received a 3rd place in the Senior Youth Trail .
‘ We also won my favourite class , the Senior Youth Horsemanship ,’ Chloe says , proudly . ‘ My beautiful horse gave me a great ride , and I do think it ’ s his favourite event , too ! This was an unforgettable moment , and one that Grub and I had worked very hard for . When we got called out for first place , I couldn ’ t control my emotions ! There were lots of happy tears and I was shaking so much with excitement and disbelief , that I dropped my prize buckle I ’ d just been handed !
Chloe ’ s glad to have stepped up to show as an Amateur , and says it ’ s been amazing so far . As the Amateur classes have much higher competitor numbers she knows there are going to be some higher levels to hit .
‘ I ’ ve set my goals for the 2022 show season ,’ Chloe says . ‘ I plan to place Top 6 in our classes at shows , and work particularly hard to place
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AQHA JANUARY / FEBRUARY ISSUE 2022