By Laurie Haughton, Chair, CQHA Media, Marketing & Communications Committee

The American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup is an educational, leadership- and competition-based event for American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) youth members from around the world. This biannual event was hosted by Canada in 1990 and 2008.

The Deutsch Quarter Horse Association was slated to host the event July 3-12, 2020 at the Equestrian Centre de Peelbergen in the Netherlands; however, in March the American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup organizers announced in a statement posted on Facebook that the 2020 Youth World Cup had been cancelled. With much determination to see the opportunity still move forward for the youth representing 13 different countries, the AQHA Youth Committee and AQHA staff turned the event into a virtual horse show like no other.

AQHA judges donated their time to judge the thousands of hours of video footage that was entered in events such as Showmanship-at-Halter, Hunt Seat Equitation, Western Horsemanship, Trail, and Reining.

Brianna Carr

Sixteen-year-old Brianna Carr of Calgary, Alberta was Team Canada’s entry in the discipline of Reining. Her runs on AQHA stallion Spooks Big Bang “Bubba,” owned by the Aebly family, earned her the individual bronze medal. Interestingly, it would seem that for Brianna, everything to do with her Youth World cup experience would not go as planned! “Bubba” was not the horse she was originally set to exhibit; that horse sold just prior to her run being filmed. Then on the day she was set to film her runs it snowed, and Brianna had to once again change plans on the fly and travel to Prairie Mountain Ranch in Madden, Alberta to film her patterns inside. When asked what her greatest lessons would be in the takeaway, she understandably answered, “There are many lessons and memories I will take away from this experience, but most notably would be how to adapt and overcome adversity.”

Team Canada won the silver medal overall, just ten points shy of the gold, which went to team United States. Individual team members accumulated three gold medals, four bronze medals, three top five placings, three top ten placings, and two top fifteen placings. 

Congratulations to all the team members: 

• Holly Carter of Regina, SK
• Abby Schaap of Midland, ON
• Talissa Gervais of Bienfait, SK
• Brianna Carr of Calgary, AB
• Ellie Gerbrandt of Roberts Creek, BC
• Amber Zabel of Caledon, ON
• Kamyl Mathieu of Sorel-Tracy, QC

The Canadian Quarter Horse Association invites everyone to tune in to the interviews with these accomplished young equestrians by visiting www.CQHA.ca. 

For more information about the Canadian Quarter Horse Association please visit www.CQHA.ca or email info@cqha.ca. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter.

Main photo: Brianna Carr of Calgary, Alberta, riding Chicota Whiz.

Photos are courtesy of CQHA.