Equestrienne shines in competition

With a rainbow of ribbons to attest to her stellar performance at the High Desert Classic Horse Show last month, 15-year-old Brenna Weems returned from the annual contest of equestrian skill with happy memories of gracefully flying over fences and hedges.

"I'm really happy because it's the end of the show year and I felt really good about it, not just this show but the whole season," she said. "It was a nice way to end on my older horse, Sammy, too, who is being sold."

Weems won the Children's Hunter Division at three feet on Sammy, a 15-year-old appendix Quarter horse, during Week 1 of the show and Reserve Champion in the same division on Isidoro, a 5-year-old Selle Francais/Hanoverian warmblood cross.

In Week 2 she showed the younger gelding Isidoro, and won the Children's Hunters again. Weems also won the Children's Hunter Classic in Week 2, which consisted of two rounds over a more complicated course of fences and combines all the various childrens' age divisions.

The High Desert Classic is an A-rated hunter/jumper competition in Bend that draws major show barns with top athletes and their mounts from all over the western United States.

Weems rides and trains with Catherine Cruger at Some Day Farms in Tumalo and has been riding horses since she was a little girl in Aubrey, Texas.

"The show is fun, but kind of chaotic," she said. "You get into a zone the entire week and it's hard to go from the daily show world routine and all the schedules and then come back to reality. Overall, I had good rounds on both horses, but occasionally I'd have a class or two that I'd make a mistake and I'd try to go back in the next time and improve."

Weems acquired Isidoro six months ago from her trainer, who found him at a sport horse auction in Argentina.

"Catherine had been training him for a while and I took him on as a project after I outgrew Sammy, who I've had my entire hunter career," she said. "Isidoro is really loving and kind of a big dog. He loves to be petted and cared for and that makes our bond much stronger. It's taken lots of practice and getting to know each other. At first it was tough, but after a while we started to trust each other and learned how to work as a team and get around the course smoothly."

Competition at the event is just as heated as competition within the show barn itself.

"Cat does a great job of teaching us and making us into a family," Weems said. "Even though we're competitive between each other we're all still really good friends. There are lots of other junior riders in our barn and that makes it fun to hang out and support each other and see the bigger jumpers and the Grand Prixs. As a barn we all bond and like each other's company."

Preparation for a show of A-rated caliber requires countless hours of practice at home and attentive care for both horse and rider.

"We try and do a lot of course work in the arena and Cat sets scary jumps so we're prepared for the show ring," she explained. "She gets us to increase our confidence by putting up bigger jumps than we may actually face in the ring so we'll have a good trip when the show starts. I'm usually really nervous until I get on, then I feel better, especially if I have a good round."

Weems is still basking in the glow of her success at the High Desert Classic, thankful for a slower period in the upcoming show schedule.

"I'm looking forward to a relaxing fall and winter," she said. "Hopefully next year I can move up to the three-foot-six division; that's the Junior Hunters. I loved having the show being local because it's so hard when you have to travel far for an event. It puts a lot of stress on both the horse and rider, and I'm just so happy we performed so well for the home crowd."