Brian Jones from North Dakota entertained everyone with his freestyle outfit which is very authentic.
	Rocky Girls Rule!
	Barb Wells-Williams - Catctus Threads
Small but Mighty!	Judy Horton and Georgia Sutten
	Dust on the John Deer Gator
Karen Lobb, Fellow Canadian add another buckle to her collection	Glen Murray and Judy Horton
Ruth Gates - fund raisingcalligraphy	Thanks Ruth!

Another busy day on the show schedule of the Region 2 Experience.  First off, some results that finished up last night. 
Thanks again to all our sponsors once again.

Our group of volunteers are amazing.  We thank them all for their dedication and support of our show.  Judy Horton was here once again to help with the awards presentation.  Judy is from Wyoming and headed out for the drive to Rapid City only to have her vehicle break down.  The part was not available to fix Judy's vehicle so Judy had to rent a vehicle, paying for it out of her own pocket, in order to get here to help us out.  Glenn Murray, also from Wyoming, is here putting in long hours of tractor driving to maintain the ground and doubled up on the cattle day as one of the wranglers.  Our thanks to AQHA Corporate sponsor John Deere for providing the big tractor that Glenn is using as well as the John Deere Gator that Judy uses for the awards presentation.  According to Glenn the tractor has all the bells and whistles.  Glen attended his first Region 2 Experience three years ago just to see what was going on and Judy asked him if he would help.  Glen stayed and helped, even though it meant sleeping in his van in the parking lot.  Now that's dedication.  Glenn has been back every year since.  Ruth McDonald-Gates has been going non-stop with her calligraphy, making signs for the lucky sponsor table, designing gift baskets, and donating her time and supplies for a fund raiser.  For three dollars, Ruth is painting gorgeous signs for anyone's name, their horse's name or just anything people want.  She donated all the money to the Region 2 Experience.  Ruth has been dealing with some very personal issues with the recent loss of her mom and dad but is still here helping out in any way.  Ruth is a past Chairman of the Region 2 Experience.  Barbara Wells-Williams of Cactus Threads organized the trade show vendors once again as well as making wonderful souvenir items for our shoppers.  Jo Waldner, our Vice Chairman has turned into a blood hound, sniffing out anyone who might want to sponsor.  There have been very few people get past Jo's table here in the Coliseum without becoming a class sponsor.  Rich, Jo's husband has been our driver, picking up and delivering our judges and ring stewards to and from the hotel and airports.  Our thanks also to Scott Neuman who headed up our volunteer committee this year and delivered 10 of the best volunteers anyone could ask for.  The 10 girls,  all from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana have been a huge help to us here.  Thanks to the Montana Gang.  Todd Izler is the guy everyone needs behind the scenes.  Todd is the jack of all trades guy that can do it all - set up, tear down and even planned our hospitality party this evening.  Debbie Holmes is our Chairman that handles all the finances.  Debbie even brought along Mom Janet to do some of the data entry.  And Denny Oviatt, our announcer, is here from start to finish and rarely gets far from his microphone.  Thank you Denny for doing us a professional job and enduring the long hours, always with a smile on his face.  Thanks to everyone who has helped out in every way.  I'm sure there are others I might have missed. 

Today was another fun day at the Region 2. A special Breyer fun day was held today in the trade show area. Participants
were able to paint there very own collectible model horse. There was lots of fun and prizes. It was a busy place with
every available seat filled for quite a few hours. The hours of the event were even extended to accommodate all the participants. The barrel racing and pole bending got under way in the outdoor pen. Thank goodness for warm weather and clear skies. While they were "turning and burning" outside, the showmanship got rolling in the Coliseum arena followed by the halter classes and then all the hunt seat events. Traci Johnting also arrived from Butler Kentucky today to conduct a barrel racing clinic. Christine Hamilton of the AQHA Journal was on scene during the clinic. Be sure to log onto the America's Daily website where Christine is blogging for the Journal-on-the-road. While Christine was in the outdoor pen, I was indoors presenting awards and snapping shots. The best events are the small fries I think. They show a lot of grit and determination. Dahley Aune from Glasgow Montana is only 4 years old and showing like a pro. Grandma Janet (Newton) of Newton Quarter Horses has been bringing them along well though, along with the help of Mom Amy and Dad Todd. Big brother Tee set a great example to his younger sisters by always smiling and working hard.

Here are some more results from today.

Check back tomorrow for more news, results and photos from Region 2.

September 26, 2009 - Day Two

Region 2 Experience - Day Two

At the completion of yesterday's performance, 12 lucky participants and a bunch of spectators were
treated to a hunter under saddle clinic presented by multiple World Champion trainer and exhibitor, Vicky Holt.
Vicky's clinic was made possible thanks to Wrangler. Vicky covered quite a number of topics related to showing
hunter under saddle horses. Vicky explained what judge's are looking for in the hunter under saddle class as well
as many of the techniques she uses in training and exhibiting her horses. It was certainly one of the highlights of this year's Region Two. Our thanks to Vicky for making the time to come and teach here. She had a trying day with plane delays due to bad weather, but arrived cheery, chipper and ready to work.
 

Here are some results that finished up later last night. Please consider these results as unofficial until verified by AQHA.

Our thanks to Gary Lynn Olson for sponsoring all of the Working Cow Horses classes. Gary Lynn is a multiple world champion Working Cow Horse exhibitor and we appreciate her support of this show.

Amateur Working Cow Horse - 7 shown
Champion - SL Hollywood Star - Michael Sigman
Reserve - Flips Hot Chocolate - JD McGinley
,
Select Amateur Working Cow Horse - 2 entries
C - Born To Cut Fancy - Steve Grove
R - Remedys Chic Mate - Steve Grove

Senior Working Cow Horse - 9 entries
C - Lil Ruf Peppymint - Randy Guggisberg
R - Look Whos Larkin Two - Kevin Winter

Day Two is always a big day here at Region Two with Reining and Trail heading up the schedule. The Coliseum Arena started at 7:30 a.m. with Novice Youth Western Riding followed by the reining later in the day. Trail practice started in the Bray Arena at 8:30 and was a busy busy scene until about 11:15. We took a short break, groomed the trail pattern and dove into about 130 trail entries. We are all thankful for the bright sunshine and warm temperatures. If you leaned back in the lawn chair and closed your eyes you could have fooled yourself into believing you were spending the day at the beach - but then you would have missed all the great trail runs that we had today. Our thanks to our judges, Rebecca Halvorson, Steve Campidilli and Bruce Brown along with our three ring stewards for putting in a long day with only taking a short break for lunch.

While we were down at the trail arena we ran into Christine Hamilton, editor for the American Quarter Horse Journal. 
Click here to read Christine's Region Two Gets Rolling blog on the America's Horse Journal-On-The-Road website.  This website is packed full of information and fun stories.  We are sure you will enjoy Christine's coverage of the show.  Thanks Christine for all your work in covering our show.

The trail was "work at will" so at the completion of all the trail runs the judges and ring stewards retired to the judges area to determine their placings. Steve Campidilli emerged from the curtains doing a happy dance as the first judge to have completed his placings. Way to go Steve!!!   Rebecca Halvorson was a close second.

Here are some photos and results from today. Please consider these results as unofficial until they are verified by AQHA. 

	photos courtesy of Hunt Seat Horses.com Sherry Clemens

September 25, 2009

Day one of the Region 2 Experience kicked off at 7:30 a.m. this morning.  Unfortunately, the hunter under saddle clinic which was scheduled for today at 1:30 had to be pushed back due to a plane delay.  Therefore, the Vicky Holt Team Wrangler Cowboy Cut clinic will be held today at 6:30.  In the mean time, Professional Horseman Janet Newton will be conducting a Professional Horseman's clinic at 1:30 and Jenna Grumann will hold her clinic at 3:30.  So lots of events happening today.   

The prizes are wonderful here at the Region 2 Experience.  Thanks to AQHA's Corporate Sponsors for the great prizes here at the Regionals. 

Champion - Montana Silversmith Buckle
Reserve Champion - Professionals Choice Saddle Pad
3rd - Weatherbetta Blanket
4th - Farnum Gift Set
5th - American Quarter Horse Journal Hay Bag
6th - Travel Stool
7th - Expandable Bungee Duffle Bag
8th - Junior Executive Vibe Padfolio
9th - Arch Shape Calculator & Face Towels
10th - Water Bottle & Face Towels

Thanks to all our sponsors for making this Quest For adventure possible.  Without the support of these sponsors this show would not be possible.  Thanks also to everyone who has brought items to sell in the Region Two Experience consignment booth.  This is a great time to clean out your closets and recycle those items that you no longer wear.  It his is a win/win situation for everyone.  You get some cash out of items you no longer need, someone who is looking for those items can buy at a bargain and the Region 2 Experience makes some cash for next years event.  So please bring in your items that you don't need any longer and we will sell them for you.  The consignment booth is for clothing only please. 

Christine Hamilton of the AQHA Journal is here.  Along with taking some great pictures, Christine is also going the Journal on the Road blog.  We will get that link to you shortly.  In the mean time, check out http://americashorsedaily.com/journalontheroad. 

Unofficial results:

Region Two Experience - Day One

The cow horses and ropers came to town today to kick off day one of the Region Two Experience.
First classes up this morning at 7:30 a.m. was the ranch sorting, followed by the breakaway roping, tie-down roping and heading and heeling. After the ranchers, and ropers, the cow horses stepped up and provided some more exciting action for the remainder of the day.

Outside in the Bray Arena, Vicki Holt of Team Wrangler Cowboy Cut of Argyle Texas was scheduled to present a hunter under saddle clinic but due to a flight delay her clinic was pushed back to 6:30. Professional Horsewomen Janet Newton and Jenna Grumann moved their clinics up this afternoon to some enthusiastic audiences.

Janet Newton from Montana is an award winning breeder of top quality all around quarter horses. Janet's presentation was "Our Youth - Our Future. Here is a group of the youth kids that participated in the clinic. Janet talked about the many AQHA programs that are available to our youth today, as well as the importance of having fun and making friends at the horse shows.

Jenna Grumann from North Dakota has been training professionally for many years and presented a clinic on the techniques of creating a properly banded mane. Several people were on hand at this clinic also to ask questions and learn Jenna's techniques.

Thanks to Janet and Jenna for volunteering their time to present these two informative clinics.

These are the unofficial results from today:

Photo Gallery from Day One

September 24, 2009

Everything is all ready to roll and tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. Central time the 2009 Region 2 Experience will kick off.  Watch the website for news, results, and pictures.  Thanks to all our sponsors for making this event possible.  We still have some classes available for sponsorship, so come out to the show and get in on the action or call the Chairperson Debbie Holmes to book your class sponsorship now.  need class sponsorship, so come on down to the show or call Debbi Holmes to get signed up for your class sponsorship.  Call Debbi at 605-883-4259.