Emma Walston of Johnson City received multiple awards in Competitive Trail at the North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) National Convention on February 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. Walston, 12-years-old and a student at LBJ Middle School, and her horse XEX King Lightfoot, known simply as “King”, were awarded the 2024 Novice High Point Junior Team Award, plus first place in the nation in Novice Junior Horse and first place in Novice Junior Horsemanship against competitors in six regions across the country.
“King is the best. I knew we could do anything we put our minds and hearts to,” said Walston of her accomplishments. “We rode in the rain, in the 100 degree heat and in the freezing cold.”
Walston and King will also receive numerous NATRC Region 4 awards in Glen Rose, Texas, on April 6 at the Regional Convention, including traveling trophies for the 2024 Junior Horse of the Year, Junior High Point Horse and Rider, and the Sharon Rubley Memorial High Point Junior Horsemanship. In addition, Walston and King won 2024 High Point Novice/Competitive Pleasure Quarter Horse and Reserve Champion Novice Horse which are awards competing against adults and juniors. Region 4 includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. A Competitive Trail Ride is not a race. It’s a timed, judged competition on a natural trail. In the Novice division, riders complete 15-24 miles per day over two days on a mapped course within a prescribed time, usually 4-5 hours. The rider is assessed on his or her ability to work as a team with the horse and be a safe rider and handler. The horse is judged by a veterinarian on condition, soundness and performance. Creek and log crossings, gate openings and steep hills are examples of some of the judged observations on the trail. King is a 25-year-old American Quarter Horse whom Emma has competed in NATRC events since 2022. The team won Novice Sweepstakes twice in 2024 which is the highest score of the weekend among adults and juniors in the division. The locations the team competed were private ranches, or state and national parks in Decatur, Athens, Colum bus, San Antonio and Valley Mills, Texas. NATRC rules require competitors to take care of their own horses throughout the weekend, including feeding, grooming and presenting the horse to the judges for check-in and check-out. The riders camp in tents or trailers, and the horses camp beside them in pens, if provided at the venue, or secured to the trailer. Upcoming 2025 competitions include the San Antonio Stroll at the Land Heritage Institute in San Antonio, Red Dirt CTR in Natchitoches, LA, and T-Rex Trot at the Wyant Ranch in Glen Rose.
