One of my goals for the Jennifer Show was to encourage new people to try their hand at performance showing. To that end, I offered some really good prizes for the Champion...
and Reserve Champion Novice Performance Showers.
Mackenzie Purdy accepted the challenge.
This is her showing off her first ever performance entry. Woot!
Now I know a lot of people are thinking, "Nothing about this says novice. That's an expensive Purdy horse with a top notch tack set and a really good doll. Where's the Breyer tack?"
I get understand those feelings, sort of, but I also think that in an ideal world, this is how everyone should get their start. Well made tack doesn't just look better. It's so much easier to use. Restricting novices to Breyer and homemade tack makes no sense to me. I want to encourage people to show performance. Bad tack sends people away in tears of frustration.
And, you know, no matter how good your tack, props and dolls are, you still have to get them on the horse properly. Mackenzie did a bang up job of that.
Mackenzie was the only novice to show in the English division...
but she was joined by a couple other, most notably Mary Berry, with the start of the Western division. That's Mary's Roxy running poles behind Peaches Dun Purdy.
Here are the two Novices going head to head again, this time in the Reining class.
It was really great seeing them compete on the big stage of the Jennifer Show!
In the end, Mackenzie was named Overall Novice Performance Champion. For her efforts, she was awarded Laura Skillern's Wade saddle and bosal.
Mary Berry was Reserve and won a custom Western Pleasure doll by Anne Field. It's also possible, that she will be receiving a small Braymere tack item in the mail sometime this week.
Congratulations, ladies! You both did really well, and I hope you will be inspired to continue showing performance!
