It would be a dream-come-true to win the Amateur Golden Horse title at this year’s Palomino World Show. Nina Christensen and Skye Blue Magic were Reserve last year. But Nina knows that’s a lofty goal and that you can’t always control everything that happens at a show. So, she has a plan.

“We’ve worked really hard and I feel have improved a lot from last year so my goal is to just do my job so Skye can do her job and be the great team I know we can be,” she explained.

Nina and Skye are entered in Amateur Western Pleasure, Showmanship, Trail, Horsemanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, Road Hack, Hunter-In-Hand, Ranch Riding, Ranch Trail, Ranch Rail Pleasure, and Performance Halter, as well as the Western Pleasure Non-Pro Stakes and the Hunter Under Saddle Stakes class.

Nina is most comfortable in Western Pleasure. Before moving to California and taking a break from horses to, as she puts it, “do the adult thing,” she competed in American Quarter

Horse Association (AQHA) and American Paint Horse Association (APHA) events, winning the Paint Horse Congress in Amateur Western Pleasure and placing fifth at the APHA World Show in Amateur Western Pleasure and Open Bridleless Western Pleasure with IMA Gallant Titan, a chestnut APHA stallion with a big white blaze and three white socks.

“I think I’m the most relaxed in Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle, so that always helps you as a competitor,” Nina explained.

But Skye is a very strong Trail competitor. At the 2019 PHBA World Show she and Nina were Reserve Championship in Amateur Trail.

“She was much stronger in Trail than I was when I started riding her and she’s taught me so much and made me really love Trail, so I think we are pretty strong in that class,” Nina said. “Skye and I have really worked hard as a team to improve our patterns this year so I hope we can showcase that in Showmanship, Horsemanship and Equitation.”

They have already come so far since teaming together after the completion of the 2018 show season, when Skye Blue Magic was leased to twin youth competitors Ellie and Kayla Bowmer, by Nina’s trainer, Kayla Mcquaig and Kayla’s mother, Laurie Buechner.

Kayla and Laurie purchased the 2009 Palomino mare, by Zips Magic Man out of Hot Jazzy Doll, with registration in AQHA, PHBA and PtHA) in 2015 as an investment right off a video.

“My mom actually found her and showed me her video. I liked what I saw which is surprising because we have the opposite taste in horses,” Kayla said. “She looked a little green, but the movement was there. We did a vet exam that she passed with flying colors.”

Skye was shipped to the DK Ranch, a small, private barn just a few miles from the beaches in Orange County, California, where Kayla operates her training business, KB Performance Horses.

“She had minimal work when she got to me. It was nice to finish her the way I wanted to,” Kayla said.

Kayla and Skye have assembled an impressive dossier. They captured a PtHA/NSBA World Championship titles in Hunter Under Saddle (in 2017) and Solid Senior Trail (in 2018) as well as Reserve PtHA Championships in Solid English Discipline and Solid Western Discipline (in 2018). They earned back-to-back PHBA Golden Horse titles in 2017 and 2018 and a Reserve Golden Horse title last year. Together they have earned PHBA/NSBA World Championship titles in Open Ranch Horse (2018) Senior Road Hack (2017 and 2018), Senior Trail (2017, 2018 and 2019) and Reserve World Championship titles in Hunter In Hand (2017 and 2018), Senior Road Hack (2019) and All-Age Hunter Under Saddle Stakes (2019).

It was toward the end of the 2017 show season that Kayla met Nina for the first time.

“I really missed horses, so with my husband, Matthew’s encouragement, I looked for a trainer and barn in our area to take lessons and maybe eventually get a horse again,” Nina recalled. “Most of the barns around our area are hunter jumper focused, and although I hadn’t really jumped since I was a kid I gave it a shot. It was really nice to be riding again and around horses but I missed everything about AQHA and APHA horses.”

A friend told Nina about Kayla’s training program, which was located just three miles away from her own home. After a visit, she started taking riding lessons on Bridled, Kayla’s retired show gelding, nicknamed Jimmy.

“They were thriving, however, Nina’s talents exceeded what Jimmy was able to do,” Kayla said. “I wanted to be able to push Nina harder.”

So at the end of the 2018 season, when the Bowmer twins completed their show year and prepared to head off to college, Kayla and Laurie offered to lease Skye to Nina.

“We had kind of decided that after 2018 we would no longer lease Skye out,” Kayla said. “But that was before we met Nina. “She is one of the most talented equestrians I have the pleasure to work with. She is naturally gifted rider and retains everything well. Her talent matches what Skye is capable of. It is astounding to be able to push such a strong rider to her limits and unearth their full potential.”

Nina is grateful for the opportunity to show such a talented horse.

“Skye is a very honest horse, with a huge heart, she loves her job and anything you ask of her she tries so hard and gives you a 110%,” she said. “She’s also very consistent and forgiving, which makes her amazing to show, because you know exactly what you’re going to get.”

That’s going to be important at the World Show this year because, like for everyone else, the Covid-19 pandemic has limited the number of shows Skye, Nina and Kayla have been able to attend and they are entered in so many events, both with Nina in the Amateur division and Kayla in Open.

“I will be showing in Open Trail, Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, Road Hack, Hunter In Hand, Performance Halter, Hunter Under Saddle Stakes and Western Pleasure Stakes,” Kayla said. “I am not going to go for the Golden Horse, unless it happens by default. I want all the focus to be on Nina this year. She is dedicated to training rain or shine. She is a patient and forgiving rider. If they are ever disconnected, Nina calmly figures out exactly where that is coming from, makes the correction and moves on. ”

After the 2020 Palomino World Show Kayla will show Skye in Senior Trail at the AQHA World Championship Show in Oklahoma City in November.

“Our ultimate dream would be to win an AQHA World Title to add under Skye’s belt,” she said. “My primary goals are to keep Skye happy, healthy and loving her job. After that, all the goals of showing will fall into place.”

Nina is well-aware that Skye is a special horse and enjoys every minute of being around her and having the opportunity to show her.

“Skye is full of personality, she’s rarely, if ever, cranky, she’s incredibly smart, she’s unlike any mare I’ve ever been around, she actually doesn’t act like a typical mare at all,” she said. “She has a few spots she LOVES to be scratched and the faces and sounds she makes when you find those spots are hilarious.  She’s a really fun and enjoyable horse to be around.”

Outside of her show career, Nina loves spending time with her husband and working on marketing for his commercial real estate company, Christensen Development. They also spend a lot of time with family.

“I have two sisters and two nieces and a nephew. My niece, Honey, and I are very close and she shares the same love and passion for horses that I do, so it’s really special to be able to ride with her and watch her learn and grow into a wonderful equestrian,” Nina explained. “Matthew has three sisters and seven nieces who we try and see as much as possible. We built our dream home in Newport Beach three years ago, have two Australian Shepherds and love spending time with family and friends.”

Nina hopes to continue to compete and spend as much time as possible with Skye.         

“I think Skye really loves being a show horse, so my long-term goal is to just keep showing her for as long as she wants to be a show horse and for as long as Kayla and Laurie give me the amazing opportunity to show her,” Nina said.

And she’s grateful too for the support of the entire KB Performance Horses team.

“Kayla is so dedicated to the well-being of her horses and stops at nothing to make sure they are receiving the absolute best quality care available and she’s just as dedicated to providing the best customized training to her horses and clients,” Nina said. “She’s an incredible trainer and teacher and her lessons are really fun and challenging and she’s always pushing you to be your best and encouraging you to try new things.”

In the future, Kayla would love to get her mom showing Skye more and eventually breed Skye once she is retired.

“My mom has really taken the back seat so the focus can be on Nina,” Kayla said. “She loves to take Skye camping and swimming (Skye can’t get enough of the ocean) and does not necessarily enjoy the stress of showing. I am hoping that with exhibiting Skye more her feelings may change.”

But for now, it’s Nina’s turn with Skye.

“My goals for Nina and Skye are to support them through the rest of their show career together and bring out the best in them both,” Kayla said. “Covid got in the way of the show season they were supposed to have this year. I am looking forward to these World Shows so they can display the hard work they put in this year. Beyond that, I want to keep them both sharp and give them the show experience they were supposed to have this year for years to come. This is just the beginning of their journey together. I cannot wait to watch their future show success.”