The ROCK On Competition Team Take Charge at the NSBA World Show

ROCK loaded up 6 horses and headed for Tulsa, Oklahoma with riders, staff, and volunteers teeming with excitement last weekend for the Annual NSBA World Show! This is the first time ROCK has taken a riding team for an out of state show. The horses that participated and their riders were:

Wil on Murphy: MurphQuake

Cyndy on Grant: Grant Me Victory

Mario and Jaxon on Icy: Rock’s Have an Ice Day

Sydney and Maci on Mowgli: Range of Motion

Aileen on Mo: Get Me Some Mo

Stacy on Ruby: Ruby Red Slippers

ROCK’s participation in the NSBA show kicked off on Thursday and went through Saturday, including many different classes, a workshop, and a Heroes on Horses parade! ROCK had a total of 8 riders last weekend, 6 veterans and 2 EWD (Equine With Disabilities) participants.

Thanks to the Texas Methodist Foundation and the NSBA Sponsor Rider Fund, all our Riders classes were covered as well as stalls for our horses. We are so grateful to partner with such amazing foundations that can help lift our riders!

Across the board, our participants competed in 6 different classes and came away with many awards; EWD Hunter Under Saddle Independent, EWD Western Pleasure Supported, Veterans Pattern Class, EWD Trail Class Supported, EWD Western Pleasure Supported, and Veterans Western Pleasure. Placements were as follows:

EWD Hunter Under Saddle Independent: Cyndy on Grant Me Victory 2^nd.

EWD Western Pleasure Supported: Jaxon on Rock’s Have an Ice Day 5^th, Sydney on Range of Motion 7^th.

Veterans Pattern Class: Mario on Rock’s Have an Ice Day 2^nd, Stacy On Ruby Red Slippers 3^rd, Cyndy on Grant Me Victory 4^th, Wil on MurphQuake 5^th, Maci on Range of Motion 6^th, Aileen on Get Me Some Mo 7^th.

EWD Trail Class Supported: Jaxon on Rock’s Have an Ice Day 7^th, Sydney on Range of Motion 9^th.

EWD Western Pleasure Supported: Jazon on Rock’s Have an Ice Day 11^th, Sydney on Range of Motion 12^th.

Veterans Western Pleasure: Wil on MurphQuake 10^th, Maci on Range of Motion 11^th, Cyndi on Grant Me Victory 12^th, Stacy and Ruby Red Slippers 13^th, Aileen and Get Me Some Mo 14^th, Mario Rock’s Have an Ice Day 15^th.

Amongst all the class awards, was also a special award bestowed upon Grant or “Grant Me Victory”, the Tribute Equine, Senior Horse Award!

Along with the classes, there was other fun festivities for our veterans like a clinic with professional horsemen, a special veteran’s dinner, and the Heroes on Horses parade. The opportunities for fellowship with fellow riders and the opportunities to learn from professionals and compete meant a lot to our participants, according to Cyndy Vetters, “What this show means to me is a chance to learn new skills & compete to see how my skills are. It’s also a chance to learn what I can do better.” Another veteran, Wil Bryant, was overcome with pride to be side by side with other veterans during the parade, “I was proud to be among peers in the Heroes on Horses Parade and was grateful to ROCK for the opportunity to show Murphy.”

There, alongside our riders offering unwavering support, was a team of ROCK’s amazing volunteers! Our group of volunteers who attended were Sharon Bradshaw, Sandra Walden, Terrah Kelso, Chris Miller, Ashley Apperson, Katherine Kainer, and an honorary mention to Chuck Kainer who helped lift and carried whatever was needed. Not only did our volunteers help in the dirt, but they were also keeping our riders and staff fed and hydrated with filled coolers they hauled around every day of the competition. We are so grateful to our volunteers for all the hard work and time they dedicate to helping our participants. Thank you for taking care of our team.

Thank you to our staff who attended, Gaby Stephens, Lauren Crabb, and Victoria Clark. Thank you for driving our horses safely to and from Tulsa, for being excellent guides for our riders, and for cheering them on through their accomplishments. We appreciate how much time you put into getting everything for this show organized and successfully following through.

We are so proud of our riders for all the hard work they put into the competition and truly enjoyed getting to see them come alive on the backs of their horses. We are so excited to see what’s next for our Rock on Competition team and look forward to seeing their growth.