Roping, poles, barrels and jumping wrap up the Region One Championship.

By Randee Fox

Courtney Pearson of Langley, B.C., bends around a barrel for her second winning run at the 2010 Region One Championship. Scroll down for more photos by Journal special correspondent Randee Fox.

July 25 was the final day of the wildly fun Region One Championship in Langley, British Columbia. It started with roping and ended with jumping with poles and barrels in the middle. There was plenty of athletic action from 8 a.m. until noon.

After finally finding my momentum chasing stories and photos, I accepted the fact that I could not be at two places at the same time. As the days progressed so did the heat factor as summer finally planted its roots deep into the Pacific northwest so ‘hoofing it’ with water bottle and hat on the 85-acre property, didn’t always allow me to catch each event. Next time I’m bringing my bicycle with a basket so I can zoom from event to event and carry my cameras and note pad.

One thing that I am coming away with is a deeper appreciation for family, community and Quarter Horses, and that extends beyond blood. Every human being and horse needs an extended family or support system. A horse needs the owner, the vet, farrier and trainer, and the human needs her horse, trainer and her extended family of family and friends for support.

What I saw mostly saw over the past four days was how the American Quarter Horse has a way of bringing people together. This was incredibly moving to me.  From Pat Senger, who is 70 and rides like she is a 40-year-old athlete, constantly surrounded by her extended family of friends cheering her on; to young Cassidy Graham who camped on the grounds with her parents, her trainer and her trainer’s husband; and to Becky’s 4-H fan club, who made her a huge banner out of tar paper.

We all need positive and healthy support systems for our health, self-esteem and well-being. And within those support systems, no matter what age we are, we all need good mentors and role models.

Take a man like Don Treadway, AQHA executive vice president. He took time out of his busy life to travel to British Columbia from Texas so that he could give a hand when needed and personally hand out awards to not only AQHA contestants but to the 4-H contestants as well. And barbecue salmon, too! Nothing was beneath this man. He is a true leader and role model.

When these support systems start mingling and blending with other support systems, well, that is when we begin to create communities based on friendship, respect and love. The communities begin to grow and can become international, just as one province and four states came together for this Region One Championship.

Today, I met Yelaina May, 19, from Roberts Creek, British Columbia, on the Sunshine Coast. She took Hez Talk Of The Town into amateur pole bending and barrel racing for the first time.

“I usually do all-around English and western events but never this western!” she told me after winning the reserve in amateur barrels, with her horse’s mane braided meticulously for the English jumping events to follow. This is Yelaina’s first year in amateur.

After her jumping classes, I chatted with her mother, Lilieth Lorenzen, also an amateur competitor and mother of three girls (all AQHA competitors) and owner of nine Quarter Horses.

I learned that during the five days  of Region One, Yelaina and her horse competed in performance halter, showmanship (she won reserve), trail, hunter under saddle, equitation, poles, barrels, equitation over fences (she won the championship), working hunter (she won reserve), and in both amateur and open hunter hack (she won both!).

Yelaina is a mentor to both of her younger sisters who did very well too. Devin May, 15, and her horse, Dee Dees Danny, won the reserve championship in 14-18 youth performance halter. She had to leave the show to compete in volleyball in the B.C. Summer Games which were held this weekend as well.

Sister Tessa May, 13, rode her horse, Gayla Sallena, a 19-year-old gelding. Tessa and Devin both do five to eight hours of dance a week that has helped them with their rhythm and grace as riders.

All nine horses and a couple of ponies live at home with Lilieth, her husband, Allan, and the girls. Lilieth helps her kids with training and coaching along with a team of teachers and mentors.

“They openly accept training from me and are all great athletes and very coachable,” Lilieth says. “They support one another too. Yelaina has a jumping coach, Megan Pomeroy from Monroe, Washington. All three kids have gotten coaching with Mark Webb, a British Columbia trainer and a member of the Canadian Youth World Cup (team). And they started as youngsters with Barb Hopkins who also competed and won the open performance (halter) geldings buckle here at the (Region One) Championship.”

I asked Tessa May what her thoughts were on having horses and what influence they have had on her family.

“They’ve brought us all together and have provided us a good way for us to communicate with each other and bond,” she answered, not missing a beat.

It was a bittersweet ending – bitter because I didn’t want it to end and sweet because of all of the people and horses that I was fortunate enough to meet. And because of the inspiration and knowledge I gained by being a journalist all weekend, I can’t wait to ride get back and ride my horses.

To see photos from the Region One Championship, watch the slide show below. Click on the photos to see the captions.

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Here’s a little about Randee, the Journal’s correspondent at the 2010 Region One Championship:

“I’ve been an AQHA member since 1991 when I bought my first Quarter Horse. I started with AQHA as a freelance illustrator, writer and photographer back in 1997. I love AQHA and am proud to be a contributor.

“This is the first time AQHA has sent me on the road; I loved every moment. Working as a photojournalist is a wonderful way to be ‘in the moment,’ 100 percent of the time, always looking for the right photo and the ‘theme’ of the story for that day. I love people as much as I love horses so highlighting the everyday Quarter Horse owners and their love of their horses is a real gift.

“And because I personally own four Quarter Horses myself, it is a great way to blend two of my passions; writing and creating images, either by illustrating or photographing, in a field that I love to communicate about – The American Quarter Horse.”