For nearly her entire youth career, 17-year-old Megan Overberg’s partner in the American Quarter Horse Association show pen has been Invitation To Show, a 1996 brown gelding she calls “Little Bit.”

During that time, most of Overberg’s friends and fellow competitors have changed horses once, twice and even three times. The Hillsboro, Ohio native  readily admits there were times she thought she too may have to look for a new horse, because of Lil Bit’s age.

“It was just never the right time for my family to think about buying a new horse,” she explains.

Overberg fell in love with horses and showing at a very young age. What began as an interest quickly became a life-shaping understanding that ultimately would show her the power of faith.

“My mom and her sister showed growing up, so we have always had horses in the family,” she explains. “Mom took my younger sister, Mallory, and me to a show when we were young.  We loved it. It became something that we could all do as a family.”

For the last 10 years she has been competing in All-Around events; the last seven under the guidance of Oxford, Ohio trainer Brent Tincher.

“Megan was a young girl when I began helping her,” Tincher says.  “Over the years I watched her grow as an individual and as a rider.”

In 2007, Overberg became the owner of the 1996, brown gelding, Invitation To Show.

“Brent was at the Florida Gold Coast circuit when he found Little Bit,” she explains.  “We flew to Florida and rode him in the middle of the night. He was the nicest horse I had ever been on.  I fell in love right away.”

Tincher was sure he had found the right partner for Overberg.

“When choosing a horse for Megan, I was looking for a quiet and safe All Around horse that would be suitable for the 13 & Under classes,” he says. “I needed a horse that would teach her by allowing her to make mistakes and let her learn from them.”

They clicked instantly and the next year won a Congress Championship in 11 & Under Hunt Seat Equitation and a Reserve Championship in 11 & Under Trail.  The team would go on to have multiple Congress Top 10 finishes in the years to follow.

Keeping Little Bit going over the years has been a team effort, Overberg insists.

“Brent knows Little Bit so well.  He has always been able to figure out what he needed in his training and health and we had a great support team of talented farriers and vets,” she says.

Invitation To Show was initially purchased strictly to be Overberg’s 13 & Under horse.

“Over the years Little Bit has allowed us to compete with him at a higher level,” Tincher says. “He always comes to the plate for us.”

Overberg credits this phenomenon to the horse himself.

“Little Bit shouldn’t still be showing at age 17 but he is,” she says. “One of the things I love most about him is his huge heart.  He can be ornery like any horse but he always comes through for me. Because Little Bit didn’t give up, no one gave up on him. God knew he was the right horse for me, so with everyone’s hard work we have always made it.”

In August, Overberg and Little Bit competed at the AQHYA World Show in Horsemanship, Showmanship and Equitation.

“We have competed at the Youth World a total of five times,”  Overberg says. “We have placed top 20 a few times but we have never made it to the finals.”

She says she didn’t know what to expect this year.

“I knew I wanted to do the best that I could but I also knew that the Youth World is the toughest place to compete. There are so many great kids, anyone can win on any given day. I knew that if we went out and gave the best performance we could, then we had a shot just like everyone else. That’s one of the great things about the World Show, each year is a clean slate and anything can happen.”

Like every other competitor, however, Overberg also knew that it’s easy to be disappointed.

“That’s just part of this sport,” she explains. “If you never go through rough times you can’t get better. I know how hard it is to make it to the finals at the World Show.

In Horsemanship, Overberg and Lil Bit competed against 173 other competitors and when she  learned they would be going on to the finals, she says she was thankful just to be there.

“When I looked at the Horsemanship finals pattern, I was intimidated,” she admits. “The pattern looked like a lot of black lines on a piece of paper. When I showed the pattern to Brent he said it was a great pattern for Little Bit and me.  That gave me the confidence I needed. If he believed we could do it, then I might as well believe too.”

Overberg and Invitation To Show were 10th to perform in the finals line up.  They had to complete a more than difficult pattern that included a straight line lead change, extended trot down to a jog and a lope to trot transition directly after a corner.

“Before Megan went into to the Finals, Brent told her ‘there is nothing you are going to do in that show pen that will make me anymore proud of you,’” says Julie Overberg. “As a mother, I am so grateful for that.  We joke that we wish Brent could coach all of Megan’s sports teams.”

When all the patterns had been completed and the scores tallied, Megan Overberg and Invitation To Show were crowned the newest World Champions in Horsemanship.

“The whole experience was a blur for me,” says Tincher.   “It was an emotional day since I have been working with Megan and Little Bit for so long. It was a good pattern but there were a few things I would have changed. I hadn’t had a chance to watch the other exhibitor’s finals patterns so I didn’t know how they had done in comparison but I was proud of them both and confident that they would do well.”

Overberg was also pleased with the patern and felt confident in her preparation. She also had a lot of family support.

“Little Bit performed great,” says Overberg.  “It was hard work preparing for this show, but I didn’t do it alone. Brent kept finding new things for me to work on to improve my timing and he worked really hard with Little Bit.  My family is always so supportive. I am grateful for Little Bit’s year long performance and the opportunity God created for me to have this chance.”

Overberg, a high school senior who participates in track and volleyball, says her goal is to keep improving.

“There are plenty of things we need to work on, but most importantly I want to enjoy every time Little Bit and I get to go to the show pen together.”

Overberg regards her involvement in this industry as a life shaping experience.

“Brent is my mentor,” says Overberg.   “He has influenced my life outside of horses by showing me that it’s important to always work hard. From him I have learned to measure success not by the trophies on the shelf, but by constant improvement. When you quit finding things to work on, your success stops with it.”

She also credits her faith for her life inside and outside the show arena.

“I know that God has given me this opportunity,” says Overberg.  “There is more to showing than just going in to the pen and winning a prize; it’s about learning.  Winning isn’t what has proven God’s love; it’s that every time a door was closed a new one opened. He blessed me with Little Bit and helped us overcome the odds because He knew Little Bit was the right horse for me. He continues to show me not to give up and to have faith, because nothing is impossible when God is on your side.”