"THE
SELECT WORLD" (Advice from Cleve Wells)
By Marilyn Morris
Mayer
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Mark your calendars! The 2004 AQHA Amateur Select World is set for September 9th through the 12th at the Tri-State Fairgrounds in Amarillo, Texas. If you're an Amateur exhibitor 50 years old (or older), you won't want to miss the show...
"It's not about it being a
'lesser' class," explains Cleve Wells, "...it's just that they have split the
amateur class because it has gotten so big and so tough." Cleve admits that
some amateurs have shied from the Select division, but he feels they should
take advantage of it. He likening it to his own showing in reining. "I'm an
intermediate rider in the reining, and I will go in it in a heartbeat. Hold on
to your pride and you're gonna lose your fun!"
Fun is what the Select
World is all about--as well as sensational prizes comparable to the World Show.
Don't worry if you haven't been showing in the Select classes (not all shows
may have them) because you can qualify for the Select World with points earned
in regular Amateur classes or in Select classes, at least through this year.
More good news: they've lowered the number of qualifying points you'll
need; and added halter classes! And showing at the Amateur Select World doesn't
exclude an exhibitor from showing at the AQHA World Show in another division,
or with another horse. (AQHA does note that "the same horse and rider
combination cannot participate in the same classes at both shows.")
We've listed all the classes, time limits to qualify and necessary
qualifying points for you, and included an interview with Teresa Fletcher of
Brazoria, Texas, the All-Around Winner of AQHA's first Select World--held just
last year. Teresa shares her thoughts about the show (and you may be surprised
to learn that several of the classes she placed in that garnered her the
All-Around Award were ones she had never even shown in before her qualifying
year).
 2003 SELECT WORLD ALL-AROUND WINNER, TERESA
FLETCHER, SHARES HER STORY...
"Other than having a pony for a brief
time when I was young, I didn't start in horses until I was in my 20's," says
Teresa Fletcher, of Brazoria, Texas.
"My sister encouraged me, and we
showed together in some open shows." It wasn't until Teresa moved from Virginia
to Texas that she started to show in Quarter Horse. "I came upon a really nice
horse, and got real lucky! I got him when he was three and he"d been broke, but
that was it. He was a really nice horse, and I showed him in Trail." The horse
was a palomino named Dude Cowboy Two, and he would go on to be a three-time
World Champion in Trail under Teresa"s guidance, and win four National High
Points Awards.
Now those who, through the years, wondered if the
retirement of the old gelding would end Teresa's successes, well, they couldn't
have been more wrong. She retired the yellow horse in "97 and bought another
horse--a 2-year old sorrel named Zips Hidden Resource. "I call him Harley,"
Teresa says, explaining that her husband has a Harley (the 2-wheeled kind)...so
she has a Harley, too. "But mine has four legs."
She admits it was a
bit of a leap to go from a broke World Champion to an unbroke baby, but Harley
turned out to be a star in his own right. Again, Teresa did her own training
for trail, limiting her showing to that class. When Harley turned four Teresa
decided to expand his repertoire, and called on Madisonville, Texas trainer
Nancy Cahill to start him in Western Riding.
2004 AQHA
SELECT WORLD QUALIFYING TIME:
JULY 1, 2003 - JUNE 30, 2004.
|
| QUALIFYING POINTS: |
| Class |
Points |
| Yearling Stallions |
2 |
| 2-Year-Old Stallions |
2 |
| 3-Year-Old Stallions |
2 |
Aged Stallions
|
2
|
| Yearling Fillies |
2.5 |
| 2-Year-Old Mares |
5.5 |
| 3-Year-Old Mares |
6 |
Aged Mares
|
6.5
|
| Yearling Geldings |
3 |
| 2-Year-Old Geldings |
3 |
| 3-Year-Old Geldings |
3.5 |
Aged Geldings
|
9.5
|
Showmanship at Halter
|
12
|
| Cutting |
2.5 |
| Working Cow Horse |
2.5 |
| Calf Roping |
3 |
| Breakaway Roping |
2.5 |
| Heading |
7.5 |
Heeling
|
7
|
| Barrel Racing |
5.5 |
Pole Bending
|
4.5
|
| Reining |
6.5 |
| Western Riding |
3.5 |
Trail
|
9
|
| Western Horsemanship |
9 |
Western Pleasure
|
16.5
|
| Hunter Under Saddle |
11 |
| Jumping |
2 |
| Working Hunter |
2 |
| Hunter Hack |
2 |
| Hunt Seat Equitation |
2 |
Equitation Over Fences
|
2
|
Pleasure Driving
|
2
|
| Team penning |
5 |
|
With
talk of the first Select World to be held in 2003, and Teresa approaching
fifty, and she decided to go for it. Describing herself as a extreme "Type A"
personality, she not only set her sights on the Select World--but for the All
Around! No small feat, as she had never even been in most of the classes she
would be trying to qualify in.
In March of 2001 Teresa turned to
trainer, Robin Frid, at the Pullin Ranch in Conroe, Texas, some two hours north
of her, to work with her on horsemanship. "For the first time I really learned
how to ride correctly," she says. The next year Robin included showmanship. "My
gosh, I could not tell you how many times I could not figure out how to cross
over (in showmanship)," Teresa admits. "When those kids win--they deserve to
win!"
Another class that was new to Teresa was Hunt Seat Equitation. "I
got a wild hair about five years ago and went out and bought all this English
gear--everything from the hair net to the saddle! But I never used it because I
didn't know how. I'd never even sat in an English saddle until that day at the
store," Teresa says with a slight laugh. "I messed with it a couple of times,
and then put it away."
Well, out came the English gear for her training
sessions with Robin. "Equitation is a real challenge," she notes. But that
didn't keep her from taking 3rd in Equitation at the Select World...and
rounding out the show with 3rd place in Showmanship, Trail and Western
Riding--and a Select World Championship in Western Horsemanship. It was more
than enough to walk off with the coveted All-Around Award, plus a ton of cash
and prizes...and it surely made up for her eleven hour haul to the Select
World.
As to why she sought the help of professional trainers when she
had successfully won three AQHA World Show championships in Trail on her own,
for Teresa, the answer came down to time. "One of the things I think a Select
person has to remember is that you can do it on your own--it's fun to do it on
your own--but, realistically, we don"t have the same time frame that a 13 year
old has. I don't want to spend ten years figuring it out," says Teresa, who
adds with a laugh, "I don"t have ten years to figure it out!"
Teresa
continues to work with trainer Robin Frid. And she notes that one very
important thing he has taught her about the All-Around is that you don't have
to win every class in every event to be successful. "You just need to get in
there and be consistent." As always, Teresa hauls her own horse to the
shows...scheduling her vacation time around her job as supervisor at the
Brazoria Telephone Company. Her husband, Dale Fletcher (who spent several years
with the Sheriff's department) now works in marketing for Coastland
Construction. Dale is on the AQHA Amateur Committee, and accompanies Teresa to
the shows when time allows.
Asked her view on the Select World, Teresa
can sum it up in one word: "Awesome!" She especially liked the friendliness,
and notes that even trainers pulled for other trainer's clients there. Because
she was going in multiple events in a single day, she says it was not uncommon
for trainers and other exhibitors to ask if she needed any help.
Teresa
plans to head back to the Select World in September, and will again try for the
All-Around. Asked if she plan to add still more events, she just gives that
soft laugh and admits, "I think my pony said 'whoa' on that!"
CLEVE'S FINAL THOUGHTS...
Cleve predicts that the Select
division will continue to grow and we may be seeing trainers who limit their
training to the Select riders, just as there are trainers now who limit their
barns to Youth riders. (Because, in general, the 50-and-old group seems to have
learned how to relax a bit more, combining Select and Youth riders in one barn
just may not always be a smooth mix, he notes).
Yes, the Select riders
are in it for the competition, but many are also in it for the fun. They have a
keen appreciation for their trainers, a somewhat more relaxed attitude, and are
just grateful for the opportunity to show and enjoy their horses.
Hope
to see you at the 2004 Bayer Select World Show!
For more information
and updates on the 2004 Select World Show, log on to AQHA"s web site:
www.aqha.org or call their
office at (806) 376-4811. |
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