NSCA Championships begin in Blackfoot

This afternoon hundreds of people gathered at the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds in Blackfoot. It wasn’t for a concert, an eating contest or a family reunion. It was for the National Saddle Club Association championships.

The event brings, “families here from Washington, Idaho, Montana, Kansas, Missouri. We come together once a year for a week long horse show, it’s be going on since 1965,” NSCA President Shawn Kohr told me. “Basically it’s a track meet on a horse. We do team events, pair events, a lot of single events like what they are doing behind us, which is figure 8.”

A competition that has a multitude of events and participants all nearly all ages, Kohr said.

“We do multiple shows, multiple events everyday. We have seven ages groups, everything from seven and under to senior men’s, senior women’s.”

And the competition extends off the track, with a royalty contest for girls who can be princesses or queens, as current queen Reann Shular explained.

“So we have a royalty contest every year where girls help out, work in the arena, give speeches, fundraise, that’s one of the main things we do is to do outreach to different organizations and go and talk to lots of kids and try to get them involved in the sport.”

Reann herself has been involved in horse racing nearly her entire life.

“Well my mom actually started racing with me at the local shows when i was three years old. She just sat me on top of the horse and rode behind me.”

Current Princess and perspective Queen, Madison Wilson, reflected on what she loves most about these events.

“My favorite part is being able to spend time with friends and loved ones and stuff. Being able to meet with them once a year and just have fun as you’re racing.”

The championships run all week long. They’ve been held in Blackfoot before and will be back in the summer of 2020.