An all-around good time: Meet one of the divisional high-points from the Region Four Experience.

LuAnne Coleman and HF Pure Charlie

Walking back to the stall barn at the Region Four Experience, LuAnne Coleman and her horse, HF Pure Charlie, ran into All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Jessica West. “Chucky” had to stop and say hello, on the off chance that Jessica might have some peppermints in her pockets.

“He’s very social,” LuAnne says, laughing. The 6-year-old son of Dont Skip Charlie is also very talented. He and his rider captured the Select all-around title at the Regional Experience, earning them a TexTan work saddle. They racked up points by winning the regional championship in Select hunt seat equitation, and taking second-places in hunter under saddle and horsemanship and top-10 finishes in showmanship, performance halter, trail and western pleasure.

“We were really busy,” LuAnne says. But the schedule is made easier by Chucky’s good nature.

“He’s real easy,” she says. “He likes to go show. He’s a little on the nosy side, so you have to make sure he’s a little tired.”

He once tripped over a trail obstacle because he was looking at some boys playing with a sand truck outside the arena, no doubt wanting to go join them.

“You walk by his stall, and he’ll nicker at you, no matter what. He wants you to pay attention to him.”

LuAnne, who lives in Ashville, Ohio, is a past president of the Ohio Amateur Quarter Horse Association and last year was named the state’s all-around Select rider in her first year to really compete with Chucky. Now, she’ll be taking him to Congress to compete in the Select events and is hoping to get him tuned up enough to merit a trip to Amarillo for the Bayer Select World Championship. Although she has qualified for Bayer Select, she doesn’t want to make the long drive unless she feels she can be competitive. She and her trainer, Jamie Watson of Goshen, Ohio, have been “plotting and planning” to make the trip soon.

LuAnne also credits her husband, Gary, for his support and for caring for things at home while she travels to horse shows. Horses at home that he cares for include Photonrythm, LuAnne’s former show horse who carried the Congress queen in 2004 and has a Peter Stone model horse made in his image.

LuAnne, 51, has been competing in Select for two years, and she’s grateful for the division, which is open to amateur riders age 50 and over.

“I’ve had people tell me they wish (the age limit) was 40,” she says.

She is also appreciative of the Regional Experiences.

“I was tickled to win (the all-around saddle), and I really appreciate AQHA (and the Region Four affiliates) putting on a show like this.”

It offered a chance for people to enjoy a top-quality AQHA show without being intimidated. Plus, “we had a pizza party and ice cream and a dunk tank … what a good time!”

Check out the photo gallery below (and click on the photos to see captions) for more evidence of the good time that was had by all!

And congratulations to all of the all-around winners at the Region Four Experience! The others are: all-around youth exhibitor Lauren Diaz of Heath, Ohio; all-around amateur exhibitor Courtney Kobak of Medina, Ohio; all-around novice youth exhibitor Taylor Overmier of Liberty Center, Ohio; and all-around novice amateur exhibitor Brittanie Daugherty of Rittman, Ohio.

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine