|
 Two
local horse riders and their trainer, Kristina Dulashaw-Swank ’98,
traveled over 450 miles round trip to show their quarter horses at a
four-day national-level horse show in Columbus, Ohio. Dulashaw-Swank
accompanied Hannah Stanley and Taylor Hoffman to the event, a show so
competitive that only about 10 to 15 percent of the riders go home with
ribbons. Dulashaw-Swank is owner and operator of KDS Performance Horses,
located in Derry, near Keystone Park.
Stanley, who has been
showing horses since she was four, competed in the eight-year-old division
with her horse, Zips Iron Tiger, winning her Hunter Under Saddle class.
“This class is judged
on how well the horse moves out with proper cadence and flat knees, said
Dulashaw-Swank. “It is important that the trot covers ground as if they
were out on a hunt.” The first-place win qualified Stanley to compete in
the Championship class, where she won the Overall Reserve Championship of
all of the Walk/Trot age divisions. Her prize was an embroidered portable
wheelbarrow.
Hannah Stanley, Kristina Dulashaw-Swank, and Zips
Iron Tiger
Stanley also placed
third in Western Pleasure, which is judged on how the horse stays
controlled and collected while going slow with a consistent head set.
Additionally, she placed fifth in Horsemanship and sixth in English
Equitation, which are both evaluated on how well she sits as a rider.
Finally, she placed seventh in the Western Showmanship class, where she
had to maneuver the horse through a predetermined pattern. In all, the
youth won six ribbons which were almost as tall as her.
Hoffman showed her
quarter horse, Im Chapter Too, in the nine-year-old group. She placed
third in a very competitive English Showmanship class and fifth in the
Western Showmanship class. Her classes involved performing a pattern where
she maneuvered the horse from the ground. She was required by the judge to
walk, trot, stop, square the horse’s feet, and pivot her horse’s
hindquarters, all in about forty seconds with no errors.
Taylor Hoffman and Im Chapter Too
Both horses and
competitors are in full training with KDS Performance Horses. Dulashaw-Swank
has been training horses professionally for over eleven years while
earning many accolades along the way at national level shows. The horses
are stabled on ten acres with a “million dollar view” in all directions.
The picturesque facility has a beautiful horse barn with an indoor riding
arena, tack room for storage of all of the riding equipment, a feed room,
and a loft for hay. The horses graze daily in the white-lined fence often
seen lining Kentucky farms.
The newly-constructed
facility has openings available for boarding, training, or lessons. People
interested in showing or boarding their horse or wanting advice should
call Dulashaw-Swank at 724-539-7276 or visit the website at
www.kdshorses.com.
(June, 2007)
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