Moose Jaw’s Emily Rowe is heading to Oklahoma this summer to compete in two different World Championship horse shows. 

The 18-year-old explained more about how this opportunity came to be. 

“Last summer I took my horses out to Manitoba to help out at a friend’s spot, they own Top Spot [Stable’s &] Appaloosa’s. And then they ended up hauling me all over Alberta and North Dakota, and when we were in Alberta, we made the plan to go to worlds with a couple of people from there.” 

Rowe is competing at the 2023 Pinto World Championship and the 2023 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show. 

“We’re going to be leaving at the beginning of June. We’re going to Manitoba, there’s a show there, and that’s kind of where everybody’s meeting up. And then, probably the second week in June, we’ll be traveling down to Tulsa for the Pinto Worlds. And then go from there, to Oklahoma City for the Appaloosa Worlds.” 

The Pinto World Championship is a 13-day horse show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This year, the show is taking place from June 12 to 24. 

“They have so many different classes from cattle, to reigning, to barrel racing,” explains Rowe. “But they’re open to any breed of horse, and that can include any coloured breed. From appaloosas to paints, and then they also have things for ponies and mules. So, their show is more open to everybody.” 

The Appaloosa Youth Show, on the other hand, only showcases appaloosa horses. The event takes place from June 27 to July 5. 

“[They] sure have a lot of the same classes, but it’s only open to horses that are registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club,” she adds. 

Rowe has two appaloosas that are competing at each event. 

“My main horse is R Taxes Wrong, but we just call him Taxi. He’s 14 this year, and I’ve had him since he was 4. We’ve had a lot of success together. We won national championships when the Appaloosas were still doing nationals. And then he’s won numerous provincial awards, including, at least twice, he won the all-overall award for the province. He’s the one horse I’m never going to sell. I get offers but I don’t think I could ever let him go.” 

The second horse is a 3-year-old appaloosa, called LER Twice as Good. Rowe just calls him Goodie. 

“Goodie I just got in September. I actually got him from Top Spot [Stable’s &] Appaloosa’s, the people I was with last year. I put all of the training on him. He’s going to come and do some English stuff at worlds with me, and probably some in-hand classes at worlds, as well.” 

Rowe is also currently working to get her coaches certification; However, she plans to stay amateur for a few more years so she can continue to compete. 

Her next event is the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company’s Groundhog Special Schooling Show. 

“There’s a show on March 4th and 5th in Moose Jaw, called the Groundhog Show, and it has pretty much everything I'd be doing at worlds in that show.” 

The show is free and starts at 9 am on Saturday, March 4, at the Golden Mile Arena. 

“I’m going to be doing a lot of ranch stuff with [Goodie], but then he’s probably going to do some jumping and some barrel racing,” she explained. 

Support Emily Rowe by visiting her online auction through her Facebook page. She will also be collecting bottles and cans leading up to worlds.