Cornerstone Horsemanship and the International Friesian Show Horse Association are pleased to announce the first-ever IFSHA North American Trainers Challenge, a brand new showcase event at this year’s World and Grand National Championship Horse Show, held at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington October 5th through 9th. The event, sponsored by Cornerstone Horsemanship and the IFSHA, will feature three women trainers from the east coast demonstrating their skills as they work with unstarted Friesian horses  
over a four day period. This Challenge will be the first of what is planned to be an annual event at the IFSHA show.

All three trainers are current or former interns of Cornerstone Horsemanship and have demonstrated their ability to start young horses. These promising young trainers are: Samantha Kelley, Alex Tucker, and Natasha Cole.

Samantha is from Granville Summit, Pennsylvania. Raised on a dairy farm, she has owned and shown horses all her life. She was very successful in showing as a member of 4-H, earning three State Championships. To further her knowledge, Samantha accepted the opportunity to become an intern with Cornerstone Horsemanship in 2008. During her internship, she won the 2009 ARHA World Champion Youth Ranch Cutting title on a Cornerstone trained mare.

Alex grew up in Luray, Virginia.  She apprenticed for a year at Miracle Mountain Ranch in Pennsylvania and then an additional year with Cornerstone Horsemanship. Though she started riding at a Hunter/Jumper stable, her emphasis has now become Ranch Versatility events.   Since joining the American Ranch Horse Association two years ago, she has taken several two year olds to top five and top ten placings at their World Show.

From Oxford, Maine, Natasha attended Morrisville State College in New York, graduating with an Associate degree in Equine Science & Management, and a Bachelor degree in Equine Breaking & Training. Though her beginnings were in
dressage, she has expanded to include gymkhana and ranch horse competitions. She recently placed in the top 5 in the American Ranch Horse Association World Show 2-year old Ranch Riding class with her own horse that she started this spring.

For more information about the Trainers Challenge, please contact Charles or Michele Pellham at 540-292-5213.

For more information about the IFSHA World and Grand National Championship Horse Show, contact Nancy Nathanson at 805-448-3027 or online at www.IFSHAworld.com.