Pennsylvania Amateur competitor Ali Hubbell has never tried a discipline she didn’t like. From Showmanship and Horsemanship to Equitation to Trail, she’s shown in it. She even rode  Saddle Seat and Dressage for a time on her first show horse, a leopard Appaloosa by the name of K Doc Holiday.

“He did everything,” Hubbell said. “We did the all- around events in the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) circuit and were Reserve National Champions in Saddle Seat. Then we went on to compete in Eventing, Dressage, Barrel Racing and more.”

The daughter of John and Chris Grusha, Ali gets her passion for horses from her mom, who also grew up around them.

“It was definitely in my genes to be a horse girl,” she said.

Ali’s first Quarter Horse was Divination, a 2003 sorrel gelding by Invitation Only out of Zippos Cherie, she purchased from Jackie Allen and Jonathan Meilleur.

“We were top 10 in every class we showed in at my very first Quarter Horse Congress,” she recalled. “When does that ever happen? He had so much try.”

The pair won the Novice Amateur Showmanship at the 2011 Congress.

After Divination, Hubbell found First Class Style, a 2008 sorrel gelding by The Invitation out of Kittens Convoy from Taft Dickerson.

Together they were fourth in the Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle and 10th in the Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle Maturity at the 2013 Quarter Horse Congress and they placed 13th in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle at the 2014 AQHA World Show.

“He was also one of the most talented Trail horses,” she recalled. “The first year I had him (2013), we finished seventh in the nation in Green Trail.”

Two years ago Hubbell purchased her current show partner, VS Fully Revived (Zeus) a 2015 red roan gelding by VS Flatline out of The Sweetest Version, from Patty Bogosh, after spotting him on Facebook.

“I saw he was for sale and wanted to buy him sight unseen,” she admitted. “I was working with (professional trainer) Chris Gray at the time and we flew to try him ASAP. I had watched Kelley Christy show him the year before in Tampa and I remember not being able to take my eyes off of him.”

Hubbell says Zeus has an incredible amount of talent in  Showmanship, Horsemanship, Western Riding, Equitation and Hunter Under Saddle and she’s having a blast with him. She keeps Zeus at home but works with professional trainers Whitney Legace and Colton LaSussa at the shows.

“I also have a friend who has been along my horse journey for over 20 years,” she added. “Her name is Kelly Wagner and she has worked with Olympic Dressage riders and has also prepped and shown World Champion Saddlebreds. She is one the most incredible coaches I’ve ever known. She coaches me regularly to help me maintain my strengthen and my physical connection with my horses. I have always felt that I have a good ‘feel’ but she deepens it. Its insane what next level of horsemanship skills she can bring out and enhance. She’s my secret weapon.”

Hubbell and Zeus will be competing at the Congress this month and at the AQHA World Show in November in all-around classes.

“Zeus is like a dog,” she said. “Before I show showmanship, every single time, he has to let a huge amount of drool out of his mouth. Weird, I know. Hes so goofy and always holds it in his mouth until we are just about to get to the first cone.”

At home, Hubbell stays busy with her own business ventures. She is an equine portrait photographer, content creator, social media manager and most recently started a podcast called Kanter Kulture. A 2007 graduate of Shippensburg University with a degree in communications studies, she is now working on a Masters degree in Marketing from Western Governors University. Seven years ago she married Kyle Hubbell, whom she met through their best friends. They have a daughter, Della, 6.

But Ali’s passion comes from her involvement in the horse industry. She is an executive board member for Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association (PQHA) and serves on the AQHA Amateur Committee.

“My goal is to bring back awareness of the happiness horses truly bring to us,” she said. “We all are in this because of the love of these incredible animals. I think sometimes we all lose sight of that. I started my photography business to freeze moments in time for people with their horses. And additionally, I started a podcast to encourage us all to talk about and think about the good times we have with our horses. I have met so many incredible people because of horses.”

Amateur Profiles are part of InStride Edition’s editorial content. If you know someone who would make a good subject for an Amateur profile email Corrine Borton, Editor, at: CorrineBorton@InStrideEdition.com.