They say that discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments and if you know Audrey Thomas and her quest for success in the show arena, you’d probably agree.

Before she ever swung a leg over a horse two years ago, the 15-year-old youth competitor from Michellville, Iowa spent almost all of her time cheering competitively and playing basketball and volleyball.

But joint and hip pain, coupled with some other health issues, forced her to give up the sports she loved so much and to which she had dedicated so much of her time.

“It was very heartbreaking for me,” Thomas said.

But, after years of physical therapy, doctor visits and learning how to manage her pain, Thomas has finally been able to be active again – now around horses – and riding has become her new therapy.

Audrey joined a 4-H club, got her first taste of competition at her county fair and loved it so much that her parents bought her a 26-year-old Paint gelding named Murphy.

“I have always been an athlete so not being able to compete in sports was very hard on me,” she explained. “I threw myself into this hobby and have learned that it’s become something I’m truly passionate about.”

Thomas may have given up competitive sports but her competitive nature followed her. A summer of doing 4H and local open shows with Murphy left her with bigger goals. She wanted a Quarter Horse and to compete at AQHA shows with some of her friends, so her parents launched an intensive search to find the right fit. Itz Martini Time (Olive), a 2017 black mare by The Best Martini and out of An Hour In Time, fit the bill and she became Audrey’s new show partner. She started her instruction with Iowa trainer Pat Heeley, who gave her a great foundation and confidence in her riding. Then last May she joined the Cochran Show Horses team.

Now, showing in Western Pleasure at AQHA events and futurities consumes Audrey’s new life away from the sports she left behind.

“I had one goal this year and that was to win a trophy buckle,” Thomas said.

She and Itz Martini Time got that out of the way early, by winning the Novice Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity class at the Back To Berrien Futurity in Michigan in June.

“I received a buckle AND a trophy,” she said. “I was over the moon excited.”

But that’s not all. They earned circuit championships in Western Pleasure at the Cornhusker Classic and at the Mayflower Circuit. At the National Snaffle Bit Association World Championship Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in August they captured two trophies – Reserve Championship in Novice Youth Western Pleasure and Bronze in 14-18 Youth Western Pleasure.

“I cannot tell you how good this felt,” Thomas said. “This was such a competitive show, with a lot of nice horses and talented youth. It’s a big accomplishment.”

Thomas and Olive are making their first Quarter Horse Congress appearance this month where they will compete in Level 1 Youth Western Pleasure and Audrey’s counting on her support team to help guide her through the process.

“Pep (Lieurance) is a very strong female role model for me, and a talented trainer who teaches me in and out of the arena,” she said. “My other hero is my other trainer, Jeff Cochran, and I strive to be as funny as he is.”

Once this show season is complete Thomas will put some additional work in on her new “project horse,” Lopin My Frost Off, a 3-year-old mare by The Lopin Machine and out of a Frosty The Goodbar mare.

“She only has 90 days of training and I am having a lot of fun with her,” Thomas said. “She is very good minded and extremely talented.”

When she is not riding or at a show, Audrey, a student at Colfax-Mingo High School, is busy with school work but she also enjoys shopping and spending time with friends and family, including her mother, Nicole, who accompanies her to all the shows; as well as her father, Zach, and brother, Dylan, who both support her from home.

But there’s nothing like the feeling Audrey gets when she is at a show.

“I show because it makes me happy,” she said. “I love my horse and I love the atmosphere at horse shows and all the great people I’ve met. I’ve made some amazing friends and I have learned so much in the last two years,” she said. “Horses are very special and have brought me a lot of joy. So I guess overcoming this has really been a personal accomplishment for me after a painful journey.”

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