2012 Youth Nationals III

With one day of the 2012 Youth Nationals remaining, we find ourselves asking, "where did the week go?" This year's show has been filled with incredible classes, fun events, water fights, and so much more. Yesterday and today, especially, have held some very special and very 'unique to Youth Nationals' events. 

First, in the dog costume contest, the second favorite animals of the grounds made their way up to Tingley wearing everything from a sheep outfit to a tutu, while the more athletic pups sped their way across the arena in the annual dog race. Today brought the event of the lead line class, where adorable youngsters showed off their Arabian mounts while smiling and waving at the crowd and judges alike. The end of the afternoon session gave way to the AHT youth yearbook group photo and ice cream social, where the youth of the show piled their roses and ribbons on and trekked into center ring while Mike Ferrara commemorated the moment. And in the final class of the evening, the freestyle reining, the crowd was wowed ride after ride by the creativity and talent of the reining competitors at the 2012 Youth Nationals. The winning horse and rider team happened to be a boy in an incredibly nontraditional outfit. It was when the song "Dude Looks Like a Lady" came on that the crowd realized that the lovely brown sidesaddle rider followed the lyrics of the song exactly. Other costumes were Fred Flinstone, an escaped inmate, and more. It was such a fun class for all!