South Arena at Brazos County Expo
Photo Courtesy of Brazos County Expo
The American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup, or AQHA, is coming to Bryan-College Station from June 29 to July 9 at the Brazos County Expo. Over 180 young riders from 22 different countries around the world will participate in the 10 day competition, according to their website.
The competition is held every two years and judges will score each team based on cutting, reining, horsemanship and showmanship to name a few categories. Manager for Team USA Michelle Tidwell has worked with the team for nine years and says teams consist of a coach, manager and up to five riders and five leadership kids in charge of other tasks.
“Each country can bring in a team of 10,” Michelle says. “So we’ve got some teams that have as low as two riders, up to teams that have 10 riders with a coach and a manager. I haven’t put the pencil to it, but we will have that amount of people on there, and then when you add that, they bring in their families so it’s a nice economic boost to the community as well.”
Something that sets this competition apart from others is the fact that riders are randomly assigned horses to compete with as opposed to using their own. The randomness evens the playing field, Michelle says, and makes it easier on foreign countries who might not want to import their horses to the state.
This is the third time the world cup is being held in Bryan since 2014. Michelle says much of their return is attributed to the abundance of horses in Texas as well as ones donated from Oklahoma.
“The people seem to love Bryan-College Station," Michelle says. "Coming in, they’re very accommodating to us when we do come in and have it here … the facility here is good, and the staff at the facility is great. They … help with any needs we have.”
The night of June 29 consists of a youth excellence seminar put on by AQHA followed by electing officers and directors for the next year, then dinner and dancing. Opening ceremonies take place the morning of June 30 in the North Arena at Brazos County Expo.
“All the teams will walk in with their flags and their anthem,” Michelle says. “We’ll have some special guests here, and a couple of speeches and stuff. And then they’ll do what we call the horse draw, and they’ll see which group of horses they draw, and that’s when all the real excitement starts.”
Remaining events include clinics throughout the week for the kids, run by AQHA professional horsemen. The kickoff to the competition is on July 3 at Still Creek Ranch, and the kids will head over to BigShots Golf on July 4 for a fun afternoon, Michelle says.
“So that’s why it takes 10 days, but it allows these kids to learn, further their knowledge with horses [and] learn to maybe do some training,” Michelle says. “Some horses are very well trained and some of them … don’t know as much, but they have a lot of time to get to know them before they show.”
Judges score each team throughout the week. The ‘High Point’ award for the best score in each category and the overall best team is revealed at the awards brunch on the last day.
“It’s always fun to be named the High Point Youth World Cup Team,” Michelle says. “It’s always fun to have that name on there, and every team member is a deal because it is a team, you’re not riding for yourself here like you are at a normal weekend or show .. and that's the ultimate goal, is to take that trophy back home with you.”
The world cup isn’t the only competition happening, however. Other contests include a lip sync song and skit on June 30 at 7 p.m., an art contest and a break the internet contest. Michelle says the success of the world cup is due to support from the states.
“The only way this event can take place besides the kids that come in to do this, is to have our horses donated from the gracious people throughout the state, Oklahoma [and] surrounding states,” Michelle says. “Texas, they step up a lot. And people are bringing horses in and leaving them in our care … so yeah, a lot of them are more than happy to do that. And it is a challenge because there's a lot of other horse shows going on and stuff. But, you know, without this, it would not be possible.”
