Wellington Equestrian Angela Wade Making Waves In Western World By Lauren Miró
Wellington’s Angela Wade took the Western riding world by storm last year, capturing third place in the Amateur Western Horsemanship competition at the American Quarter Horse Association’s Amateur World Championship Show. Now, she hopes to return aboard her newest mount to win it all this year. Wade, a lifelong equestrian, beat out 54 other riders to take third place aboard Smooth N Chocolatey, an AQHA gelding owned by Deborah Hearst of Wellington. “It was amazing,” Wade said. “It was my third world [championship] win, and my first trophy win at the world show. For me, it was all about going in there with confidence and believing in myself.” Wade grew up riding in Wellington’s equestrian circuit. “I actually started riding English,” she recalled. “When I was five years old, my dad bought me a Welsh pony, Marshmallow.” She and Marshmallow later moved to Sea Ridge Farms in Wellington, owned by Patty Vatterott. “Patty grew up in the Midwest,” Wade said. “She was more involved in Quarter Horses and introduced me to them.” Compared to the classic hunter, navy and brown jackets of English riding, Wade said her 11-year-old self fell in love with the vibrant show clothes worn by Western riders. “I saw the show clothes and said, ‘I want to wear that,’” Wade recalled. In 2002, Wade got her first Quarter Horse, Dandy Blue Diamond. Together, they took third place in the 11 & Under Trail class at the AQHA Congress show, another major AQHA competition. For the past 12 years, she has been showing on the AQHA circuit, riding both Western and English styles.
34
June 2014 |wellington the magazine| 10th Anniversary
“It’s a different world,” she said. “The majority of the trainers are in Texas and the Midwest. It definitely doesn’t have the glamour of the English world. The people are very down to earth and humble. I’ve made a lot of friends.” Wade has also won a cavalcade of awards throughout the years. Some of the highlights were placing all three of her horses in the top 10 at the 2013 AQHA Congress competition in Amateur Trail. In 2012, she won the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure class at the AQHA Congress. Taking third place at the world show tops her list of accomplishments, but she knew her mount had the potential all along. “I’ve been showing Smooth N Chocolatey for six years,” Wade said. “I knew he had the potential to do his job. It was more about me believing in myself to lay out the pattern. I knew I had the best pattern I could have had, though there are always little things you want to change.” In horsemanship competition, horses and riders must ride a set pattern, which may include walking, trotting, loping and galloping in straight lines and circles, spins, quarter turns, half turns and side passes. Riders are judged on their seat, posture, finesse and execution of the pattern. “There’s a lot of technique to it,” she said. “I actually had three horses qualify and had to decide. I chose [Smooth N Chocolatey] because the pattern had a lot of difficult ele-