Thirteen-year-old Carley Rutledge, of Altoona, Iowa, is all about the Trail.

It’s her favorite class to watch.

“I like watching the spots they (competitors) choose and how they set up the pattern,” she explained.

And it’s her favorite class to ride.

That won’t come as any surprise to her fellow youth competitors. Carley and her current show partner, VS Born To Be Good (Houdini), captured a World Championship gold globe at the 2018 American Quarter Horse Association Youth World Show in 13 & Under Youth Trail, the first year the association offered that class. She put an exclamation point on her show year in October when she and VS Born To Be Good won the Level 1 Youth Trail 13 & Under at the Quarter Horse Congress.

But Trail is not the only class in their repertoire. Carley and Houdini, a 2013 sorrel gelding by VS Code Red and out of ManyGoodThings, compete in all-around events, including Showmanship, Equitation and Hunter Under Saddle.

In addition to their awards in Trail last year, Carley and Houdini also won Reserve Congress championships in Showmanship – in 11 & Under Youth Showmanship in 2017 and Level 1 Youth Showmanship in 2018.

And, they won the L1 Youth Equitation at the AQHA Level 1 Central Championships and clinched the   All Around High Point 13 & Under title at the 2018 AQHA Central Level 1 Championships. Sometimes Carley says she can hardly believe they did so well in the show pen in 2018, since she only teamed with Houdini at the end of January.

“He was very green,” she explained. “I think he had only been to one show. We started out strong at our first show in February, winning our first 13 & Under All-Around High Point award.  We kept on winning High-Point or Reserve High Point awards leading up to the Youth World Show and Congress. I absolutely love this horse.”

At the shows, Carley has a big support staff. She trains under the guidance of Shannon Vroegh and Hannah Lind and her mom, Laurie Rutledge, is always by her side.

“I show because I love it and I love my trainers and the time I get to spend with my mom,” she said.

Carley says her mom has always had horses and she can’t remember a time her family didn’t have one. She started showing in 4-H and open shows at the age of 7 and won her first trophy in a Walk-trot class on her sister’s horse. Carley said she was scared but she never looked back.

Her first real show horse was Stroke My Ego (Gunner), a big, bay gelding that gave her plenty of challenges.

“He made me work hard,” she recalled. “And, quite honestly, I was a little fearful of him in the beginning. But I’m grateful now for him and I still have him today. When Gunner got injured my trainer (Vroegh) had me ride so many different horses. She gave me the confidence to become the rider I am today.”

More and more of Carley’s time is spent these days showing or preparing for a show. But when she is not gone, Carly stays very busy with school – she is a student at Southeast Polk Junior High in Pleasant Hill, Iowa.

She plays club and school basketball, track, cross-country, and recently just made freshman football cheerleading squad for next year.

“My basketball team was undefeated all year,” she said.

Carley also treasures the time she spends with her friends and family, including dad, Shannon Rutledge; sister, Alexis; and grandparents, Russ and Pam Morine.

Each year her family takes a vacation to the Cayman Islands, where they all enjoy relaxing and spending time in the water.