It’s all about the volunteers as Region Nine comes to a close.

By Larri Jo Starkey

Kamiah McGrath of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, front, won her first saddle, a Tex Tan saddle sponsored by Markel Insurance, at the 2010 Region Nine Championship. To see more photos from Region Nine, scroll down to see the slide show.

Kamiah McGrath, 9, won her first saddle during the 2010 Region Nine Championship in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. With her equine partner They Call Me Jake, Kamiah of Murfreesboro went in almost every class, outpointing a lot of taller competitors.

“I like showmanship, trail and hunt seat eq,” she says. ” I wanted to work hard and do well.”

And she did. Riding “Jake” — she calls him that, too — Kamiah was a fierce competitor, concentrating on each class intently and enjoying the precision that her favorites call for.

Kamiah was among many exhibitors who had a great time at the Region Nine Championship thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers. For the past five years, Region Nine has been in Jackson, Mississippi. The move brought a new group of exhibitors and a new group of volunteers.

“We figured it was our turn,” says AQHA Professional Horseman Roger Elder of Maryville, Tennessee. Show manager Anne Brzezicki is the equestrian coach at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro and was able to help the group get the use of the Tennessee Miller Coliseum, where the show took place.

Each day dawned hot and humid, with the air-conditioned coliseum a huge relief to hot exhibitors and horses. Late storms surged through the area each evening, taking out the power during the Friday watermelon social. Region Nine organizers didn’t let a little thing like power outages bother them, and the show went on, including a Saturday ice cream social.

As soon as the last class was over and the last banner had been cleaned from the arena, organizers went home to get a little much-needed rest. They probably won’t start talking about next year until tomorrow.

Other all-around winners:

Novice youth: Katie Clark, Cookeville, Tennessee, and Dontskipthischarlie

Novice amateur: Susan Muhlenkort of Franklin, Tennessee, and Busted My Assets

Amateur: Sarah Elder Chabot of Maryville, Tennessee, and Detail This

They each received a Tex Tan saddle sponsored by Markel Insurance.

To see more photos from the Region Nine Championship, watch the slide show below, exclusively from The American Quarter Horse Journal. When you’re on the road, we’re on the road.

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