09/21/2026
🌻🏆 2026 REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP! 🏆🌻
Team Sunflower had such a great time attending our second USDF Region 8 Regional Championships! It was an exciting week filled with great rides, valuable mileage, and—most importantly—continued growth and confidence from both horses and riders. 💛
✨ Kelly Clark & Bonnie had a fantastic week! They earned a neck sash after placing 8th in the Adult Amateur Equitation Final in a very competitive class.
They also put in some really lovely tests throughout the week, bringing home a 🥇 1st, 🥈 2nd, and 4th out of 15 in some large classes!
Kelly and Bonnie also put in a great ride in their very competitive Adult Amateur Regional Championship class, placing 15th out of 37 combinations! So proud of this pair and everything they accomplished this season. 💛
✨ Quixote XX “Quiche,” owned by Diane Thomas, made his Regional Championships debut this year! He put in a good effort in his first-ever Regional class and followed it up with some really nice rides in Training Level Tests 1 and 3, earning a 🥈 2nd and 🥉 3rd.
Saturday and Sunday were all about enjoying the experience. We spent our time hacking around the grounds and letting Quiche take everything in. Seeing him happily and confidently hack around such a large, busy championship venue was one of my favorite parts of the week. His confidence has grown tremendously, and that means just as much to us as any ribbon. ❤️
Regional Championships are about so much more than the results. They’re an opportunity to see how far these horses and riders have come, gain experience in a championship atmosphere, and come home with even more confidence for the future.
So incredibly proud of Team Sunflower and another wonderful Regionals in the books! 🌻🐴🏆
A huge thank you to all of our support at home while we were away. Without my family none of this would be possible! Also, a massive thank you to my father, John, for the endless work with these horses and everything that comes with it!
We head home with happy horses, great memories, and plenty to be excited about for what comes next! We’re looking forward to the couple more shows we have planned to finish up the season, and then continue into our training!
