Oklahoma- Competition Time!

The day we have all been anxiously awaiting... The AQHYA World Judging Contest! We woke up this morning with butterflies in our stomachs, from excitement and nerves! Our hard work and dedication throughout this summer finally paid off when we stepped into the arena under the bright stadium lights. 

With a pep talk and prayer led by Advisor Mr. Van, the girls were motivated and excited to compete. Not to mention, the turquoise jewelry they proudly sported in honor of Knapp. 

We listened to our favorite pump up songs in the car ride, including the classic "Eye of the Tiger"!

One last team huddle! 

The horses were BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

The team placed 18th overall, and Lauren received 8th place and a medal for Reasons. 

We are so proud to have had the opportunity to compete at such a prestigious contest amongst many talented competitors.  It has truly been a memorable experience that we will always value! 

To celebrate the fun filled day, we dressed up and went to Bricktown for dinner. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped us along this journey to Oklahoma! We are truly blessed and grateful for this opportunity. 

Oklahoma City Day 1- Travel Day

Today we traveled from Sacramento to Oklahoma City! There were lots of fun, memorable moments and many more to come! Here are some photos from the day including reasons in the airport, and selfies with our FFA Advisor Mr. Van! 

Tomorrow we will be exploring Oklahoma City and relaxing before the big competition on Monday! 

We are incredibly excited to be here and couldn't have done it without the support of everyone reading this. THANK YOU!

Reining by the Bay

Last Wednesday and Thursday the girls took a trip to the Silicon Valley to practice at Reining by the Bay! The trip started with a trip to the beach complete with sand crab races, a tour of UCSC and Pizza My Heart!

Then it was off to Palo Alto for the night where our lovely hosts took us out for Frozen Yogurt. At 7:00 we were up and off to Woodside for a day full of excitement at Reining by the Bay! After the show we went to Redwood City to tour Silicon Valley Clean Water with Coach B's dad and learn the science of wastewater treatment.

After the girls got to tour Stanford and see the Facebook headquarters on the way home! 

FIVE more days until we leave for Oklahoma!

Atwater Practice

Last weekend the girls went down to Atwater and stayed at Coach B's parents' house. They judged a class at Krough Ranch and then went to Shawna Dahls' Foundation Quarter Horses in Mariposa and admired her beautiful horses! 

At Shawna's a halter got caught in the tree so Elsa and Lauren decided to take it upon themselves to retrieve it. However they didn't realize they were about to anger a tree... let's just say the tree won.

After that Trish and Elsa got to ride a horse for the first time! Moses and Joe did a great job letting the girls ride and relax! 

 Only FIVE more days until we leave for Oklahoma!

PCQHA Summer Celebration

The girls got EIGHT HOURS of practice at the PCQHA Summer Celebration Show in Rancho Mureitta last Friday! It was a long day, but they got to see classes of halter, western horsemanship, western pleasure, western riding, and reining! They even got exposed to exciting world of cutting! It was just what they needed especially since there is only one month until we leave for Oklahoma! 

The girls are starting to get nervous, so give them some love! If you aren't following us on Facebook yet please do! https://www.facebook.com/wphshorsejudging?fref=ts

Write some words of support and lets get them ready to compete at worlds! The more excited they are the more likely we are to bring home a world title! 

Horse Expo

The team took a trip to Cal Expo in Sacramento for the Horse Expo! We talked to many potential sponsors, and visited many of the booths.

(From left to right) Lauren, Coach B, Elsa, Harper and Trish and the lovely Jill from LMF Feeds!

Cosequin asked Lauren to give a set of reasons in return for a sponsorship! What a deal!

End of Year Banquet

On Wednesday, May 27th, the Woodland Pioneer FFA Chapter held their end of the year awards banquet. The team was recognized as state champions and Briana delivered a wonderful speech about our year. It was a great evening and ceremony!

The team even gave Briana a customized blanket with team pictures!