08/04/2026
Just finished out our first AQHA Youth World Show. Words do not express how very proud I am of these two girls and their horses. Both horses have never been to a show this far from home, been in a stadium arena, or to a show this big. Sometimes things don’t workout quite how we envision in our heads, but it’s ok, at the end of the day great progress was made. And we are looking forward to all the wonderful things these two teams will accomplish together.
Kailey & Sensational Presence placed 9th in the level 2 eq over fences and 12th in the level 3 jumpers (a couple errors bumped her from the top 4). Solid rounds in the working hunter and hunter hack. I am so proud of all the hard work Kailey has put into poppy to get here. It’s been 3 years of dedication. They make a great team and we are looking forward to attending many more shows. Jacqueline Whitney and Kirbi Kozek I hope we made you proud!
Sofia & Sign Now attended as their first and last youth world exhibitor. We came into the show mainly for the experience, as Mav is still young and has grown so much in the last year. He has not been pushed to allow him to grow and mature to be the future amateur superstar for her. Slow and correct is what we shoot for. It was on the bucket list to get to Youth World for this team, so when the opportunity came up we went for it, knowing it would be a lot for a young horse. Mav haul half way across the country like a pro. Baby Mav was asked to put his big boy pants on, and although he did at points in practice and made huge progress, it didn’t quite come together in the show ring. And it is ok, Sofia walked away learning to better support her young horse and creating new goals to work on. Of course the day after we are done showing he started settling in and behaving more like himself, stress can be a lot on a young one. I am so incredibly proud of you and your horse! You both have a bright future, give it time. 😉
I think the biggest blessing we came back with is the great friendships created and memories made while we were there. We have a great group of riders, trainers and parents within our state of Florida! Thank you to everyone that made this a great experience for our first trip to Oklahoma! (You all know who you are 😉)
And to our amazing barn family at home… your texts, support, words of encouragement are appreciated more than you could imagine. We love you all! Shane Rux Photography American Quarter Horse Youth Association Florida Quarter Horse Association
