32 / Sport and Trail Magazine
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Originally published in Endurance News, the monthly magazine of the nonprofit American Endurance Ride Conference, which sanctions rides of 25 to 100 miles throughout the U.S. and Canada. For membership information or to request an informational brochure, write to [email protected], or visit www.aerc.org.
By Jakob Gregory
My mom, JayaMae Gregory, and I were invited to Missouri to accept an award on behalf of our 17-year-old mare, Foxfire’s Little Britches (Asali). This year, Asali became the first Missouri Fox Trotter to finish the Tevis (Western States Trail Ride 100 Miles One Day Ride, http://www.teviscup.org/) twice. She also became the first Missouri Fox Trotter to carry a junior down the Tevis trail (me!).
The Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association (MFTHBA) invited us to the World Show and Championship in Ava, Missouri. My mom and I landed in Springfield, Missouri, on September 5, after four grueling hours on small planes, starting in Paradise, California.
When we first arrived on the show fairgrounds, I was in a place where I knew I belonged. Lots of Missouri Fox Trotters surrounded me. Amber Wilson of the MFTHBA greeted me and my mom. She was very nice and treated us like celebrities! She gave us a tour. The grounds were so big that you had to drive everywhere in a golf cart.
There were four different arenas, two warm-up arenas, the show arena, and the cattle sorting arena. Six barns with 50 stalls each reigned over the show grounds. Every barn was filled with horses! There were a lot of different vendors selling clothes, food, and tack. My favorite place to eat was The Rusted Fork. They made really good fried pie!
I got a lot of Missouri Fox Trotter gear, including a ton of shirts. When we watched the show, my mom and I got to sit in Amber’s box seats. The show went on the entire week and started at 6:00 p.m. each evening and ended at 11:00 p.m. The Fox Trotters were being graded on how well they could trot, canter, and flat foot walk. Flat foot walking is walking at a very high pace with an excessive head bob. I was always trying to pick out the winner, I would never make a good judge.
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