Florida amateur competitor Jennifer Leavengood took one look at the registration papers for Al Be Worth It and just knew.

Her trainer, Beth Case, had purchased the 2019 bay colt by Allocate Your Assets and out of The Last Wahoo from his breeder, Nancy Sue Ryan, when he was just a few days old. She posted his picture on Facebook and Jennifer thought he was absolutely adorable. But it wasn’t until Case got his registration papers back from the American Quarter Horse Association, that Jennifer knew she had to have him.

“It’s a funny story,” she explained. “Beth had been trying to find me an AQHA Hunter Under Saddle horse for a while at that point. The day she got his papers back she sent me a photo of them. When I saw the name Al Be Worth It, I texted back that it was meant to be that I own him.”

That’s because since 2017 Jennifer had been showing Because Shes Worth It (Phoebe), an APHA mare by Hot Ones Only and out of An Unfair Advantage (by All Time Fancy). In 2016 Case won the Congress Masters Hunter Under Saddle on Phoebe, then owned by Tom Lukenbill, and then the Open 2-Year-Old, Breeders Futurity at the Paint World Show.  In 2018 Case piloted Because Shes Worth It to a win in the Junior Hunter Under Saddle at the APHA World Show and Leavengood rode her to a win in the Masters Amateur Junior Hunter Under Saddle.

“Phoebe gave me most of my biggest wins and coveted titles,” Leavengood explained.

So, when she saw those registration papers bearing the name Al Be Worth It in May 2020, she knew she had to act. Case agreed.

“It was the simplest horse purchase I ever made,” Leavengood said.

Case started Al Be Worth It under saddle and said he has been easy since day one.

“I would definitely say he’s a people pleaser and he’s always been a bit on the chubby side,” Case explained. “In fact, he used to plow right through the other horses to get his daily treat from me. And, he absolutely loves attention. He will whinny at you every single time you walk into the barn, whether it’s been 12 hours or 12 seconds.”

Case said she originally wanted Leavengood to wait until Al Be Worth It was a 2-year-old and started under saddle, but she was persistent.

“He’s beautiful to look and a great loper,” Case said. “He’s as steady as they come, always staying right with you and he just wants to be good.”

Last year Leavengood showed Al Be Worth It to a win in the Breeders Championship Futurity 2-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle at the National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) World Show.

“It was my first time winning a BCF trophy, so I was pretty excited,” she said.

This year Leavengood and Al Be Worth It will compete at all the major AQHA events and futurities, with her Highpoint Performance Horses family.

“Highpoint has a strong group of people that are always there to help and make all of these great things happen,” she said. “I enjoy my time with the group, whether it’s just a quick visit or a multi week long horse show.”

And she values her relationship with Case.

“I especially love the plain raw truth that she gives me,” Leavengood explained. “Day one she didn’t hold back what she said to me and it was refreshing and surprising all at the same time. Her bold truth is one of her strong points and I know that makes me better each time. I always can trust her judgment and that gives me a special peace-of-mind that makes training from 1,000 miles away easy.”

Leavengood typically sets lofty goals and this year is no exception. She wants to be competitive at the AQHA World Show in Amateur Select Hunter Under Saddle.

“I just turned 50 last year, so both my short and long-term goal is to be competitive in the AQHA Select Hunter Under Saddle,” she said. “We are also going to see how Griffin does in Halter. I may dip my toe in the Equitation, but it would be a new class for me, so there will be a learning curve to work through.”

She also thinks Griffin has the potential to be an outstanding all-around horse.

“I’ve only focused on Hunter Under Saddle for the past 20 years, so it would be a lot for me to learn the other events,” she revealed. “Maybe I could become more than a ‘one trick pony’ myself, but that remains to be seen.”

When she is not riding or at a horse show, Leavengood, a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in accounting, is very busy at Blume Mechanical, a company she co-owns with her husband of 10 years, Steve Blume. They live in Belleair Shore, Florida, just miles away from the horse farm she grew up on.

“I literally used to swim behind the house I currently live in now,” she explained. “I also have five acres in Seminole, Florida which is about six miles from my house with a three-stall barn. I keep a horse at home to ride to stay in shape, but I now keep her at a Hunter Jumper boarding stable because it is easier than trying to run my own barn and juggle my other responsibilities.”

Leavengood gets her love of horses from her mom, Patti, who gave her lessons as she was growing up. As a teen, she started showing in 4-H and FFA events and taking instruction from Richard Flowers in Tampa, Florida. After college, Leavengood ventured into the world of AQHA competition and that’s where she met Mark Stevens, who she eventually enlisted as her trainer.

“I had a Certifiable gelding (Certify This) at the time and Mark took me from the Novice Amateur to Amateur ranks,” she explained. “He also told me all about the Justin Rookie program.”

In 2011 Leavengood teamed with an AQHA mare by the name of Hot Ann Pepperey and set her sights on winning that title.

“My husband gave me the year off work and a F350 and Living Quarters trailer to chase that dream,” she recalled. “I went to over 30 horse shows through the first week of December and finished first in Florida state rankings and second nationally.”

Unfortunately, Hot Ann Peppery cut her eyelid at a show in Mississippi early that December and the accident would eventually bring her career to an end.

“After having it sewn up she colicked because the anesthesia put her gut to sleep,” Leavengood said. “Pepper survived colic surgery, but we couldn’t finish the last three shows of the year. She is now retired with my mom and stepfather in High Springs, Florida.”

Although Pepper survived the colic surgery, she was never the same and Leavengood found it hard to find a suitable replacement …. that is until Because Shes Worth It came along. Since then, Leavengood has enjoyed plenty of success but she thinks it’s equally important to remember where you came from and give others the same opportunities she had.

“In the early 2000s I won my first leather halter at the Stars and Stripes Big A horse show with Certify This,” Leavengood said. “The show awarded leather halters to a random placing in each class. I won the leather halter for placing fifth. I was so happy to win a fancy leather halter for fifth place in Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. That experience stuck with me and in 2020 and 2021 I sponsored a leather halter to be given to a random placing in every Novice Amateur and Novice Youth class at the APHA World Show. Sometimes a random placing prize can be an important moment and milestone.”