Although she best describes her introduction into the world of horse shows as a “rough start,” Shannon Williams of Emerald, Wisconsin was bound and determined to live out her dream of showing horses. Now, she is doing just that.

As a youngster, she rode an Appaloosa mare in mainly game events until her family purchased their first “real show horse” shortly thereafter.

“We bought a real show horse at the beginning of the show season. She coliced and we lost her with a 6-week-old foal at her side,” she says. “A neighbor lent me his horse to show at the County Fair of which I did really well with, but after the fair, he took her back and I didn’t have a horse. We had many in the pasture but none of them were show horses. This just made me want to show even more!”

After the fair, there was another show Shannon recalls wanting to go to but couldn’t because she did not have a horse to take. Heartbroken, Williams decided to take a 2-year-old that her grandfather had just purchased out of the field to ride at the next show just two weeks later.

“I went in the first class and didn’t place because she took the wrong lead,” she recalls. “I went into my second class and won it! The judge came up to tell me that he could tell I worked my horse to get better and take the correct lead and he rewarded me for it. Since then, I’ve never given up on what is important to me. I’ve kept trying and worked harder to accomplish my goals and what I want.”

While acquiring a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Williams continued to ride and show horses.

“Toward the end of college, I was our Saddle Club Queen and ran for the Western Saddle Club Association (WSCA) Queen and won the second Princess title. I didn’t have many other activities as I was too busy showing in open shows along with the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) circuit,” she explains.

Showing many horses through the years, Williams has been fortunate to have had several very successful horses like Lil Orphan Oakie, a 1992 APHA mare who she trained herself and later became the foundation of her APHA breeding program, Redeemed In Gold, a 1996 APHA mare who showed successfully in Hunter Under Saddle and Showmanship making the National Honor Roll, Mr Plenty Good, a 2004 APHA gelding who she showed in all-around events, Coolest Lady Yet, a 2000 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) mare who became an AQHA Champion was first horse Williams qualified for the AQHA World Show, Prinzzipella, a 2007 AQHA mare who had multiple Futurity wins in Hunter Under Saddle and was a finalist at the Quarter Horse Congress and Suddenly Out of Range, a 2007 AQHA gelding who had multiple futurity championships and Top 10 placings at many of the major shows.

Yet, Williams really stepped up to competing at a national level when she bought her current show horse, Ms Best of Sudden by RL Best of Sudden out of Zippin Good Bar who is known ironically as “Sweetie.”

Remembering back when she started to look for a futurity horse, Shannon was at Rusty and Katie Green’s place to look at some prospects. She was told then about Sweetie’s “manners” but accepted her as a “kind of challenge.”

“I laugh at this! If you really knew my horse, you would know why! Sweetie is named that for a reason and it’s not because she is sweet!” she laughs. “Although she did take a liking to me but she’s not the best minded in her stall. She does love what she does and will please you 110 percent under saddle and you will never find a horse like her! She’s a diva- she’s pretty and she knows it!”

With wins at many of the countries top futurities, Sweetie finished their first year showing the 2011 National Snaffle Bit Association 3-Year-Old Intermediate Open Western Pleasure Horse of the Year, 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure Horse of the Year and the NSBA Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure Reserve Horse of the Year.

Williams also finished fourth place at the Quarter Horse Congress in 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure. In 2012, Sweetie continued her winning ways at many large circuits throughout the country and in 2013 earned her Open and Amateur Superiors in Western Pleasure.

This year under the guidance of Pat Heeley of Van Meter, Iowa she started out Circuit Champion in Amateur and Senior Western Pleasure at the Pre-Denver Circuit and was the NSBA Reserve World Champion in Intermediate Open Western Pleasure Futurity and the 4/6 YO Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure Reserve Champion at the NSBA Breeders Championship Show. She also earned a Top-10 placing at the Quarter Horse Congress in the Limited Open Western Pleasure Maturity with Troy Compton riding.

Besides showing in Amateur Western Pleasure and Non-Pro Maturities, the pair have been competing in Performance Mares as well as beginning to add in some all-around events like Horsemanship, Showmanship and Western Riding. To date, Sweetie has won over $38,000 with over 250 AQHA Performance and 55 Halter points.

In addition, Williams is also looking forward to the future showing her 2-year-old APHA Western Pleasure horse, Gettin Lotz Of It by Gettin Impulsive out of Lotza Time To Win.

“I raised her mom and her so this one will be really fun and rewarding to show,” she says.

While working as the President of her company, Williams Solutions LLC, where she is a Business Intelligence Consultant dealing with healthcare and technology takes up plenty of her time when she is not working or with her show horses, she is probably still with horses just at a cow event.

In fact, Williams owns two cow horses Peps CD Prescription and Lil Highbrow Sabrina and loves to compete in various cow events including Ranch Sorting, Roping, and Team Penning. She has also shown in Ranch Horse Pleasure and Reining.

“If I’m not at a horse show, I’m either sorting, penning or at a ranch rodeo,” she says. “I also like stoning (blinging shirts, hats, etc) in my spare time and spending time on a body of water, whether it be on a boat on the river or in the pool. Oh, and I’ve been known to bar stool race and play outside broom ball in the winter.”

Her fiance, Matt Mara, is also starting to enjoy the horses and has taken a real liking to the cattle events and in particular Roping.

“He started to learn how and is doing really well at it,” she says. “He just has to learn to ride a horse next!”

With the wedding scheduled in the Spring of 2015, she will have two step-children Beau, 16 and Lydia, 11.

“Beau likes to work around the farm while Lydia loves to be around the horses,” she says. ” She loves to ride my old Paint show gelding at the farm along with riding Sweetie at the shows.”