They say that success is best when it’s shared and Illinois native Lexie Frencl could not agree more.

Although she has been showing horses competitively since she was just 14 years old, everything changed for Frencl when she met Justin Clay Arrington while she was handing out awards at the 2021 National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) World Show.

“Clay had won just about every 2-year-old Western Pleasure class he went in with RV Not For Hire, (a bay gelding by Machine Made and out of I Will Be A Good RV) until he was Reserve in one of them,” she recalled. “When he rode up to get his awards I told him I thought he was the winner. Clay won’t admit that I noticed his horse before I noticed him but it’s true.”

His response? “Your opinion is all that matters.” And the rest, as they say, is history. Clay and Lexi have been inseparable ever since. In January they became engaged and they are planning their wedding for the Labor Day weekend in 2024 in Texas.

“Now, I have my horses with Clay and that has been so fun,” Frencl said. “It is an interesting dynamic when you are in a relationship with your trainer but it has all been a learning experience and so fun for both of us.”

Frencl’s background is in all-around events but recently working with Clay, she has developed a passion for being around 2 and 3-year-olds.

“We really enjoy watching their progression,” she said.

The first prospect Lexie and Clay got together was Made For Naturdays, a bay gelding by Machine Made and out of KM Little Bit Of Me.

“My grandma (Jill Fenn-Shutay) and I purchased him last March and we all decided we were going to hold him back to be our entry in the 3-Year-Old & Over Maiden Western Pleasure in (Lexington) Virginia,” Frencl said.

Clay rode Naturdays to an eighth place finish in the class and the next day Frencl won the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure. Then at The Madness in Ohio the next month, Frencl and Naturdays won the $2,500 Limited Horse Limited Rider Western Pleasure.

“Natty was the first horse we bought as a 2-year-old and my first ‘real’

pleasure horse,” she said. “It was such a fun adventure with him and he was also the first horse I taught Showmanship on my own. I was really proud of that.”

Natty was recently sold to the Neilsen family and will continue his show career with professional trainer Blake Weis. Shortly thereafter, Frencl started her hunt for another 3-year-old to show and have fun with. That’s when IWillBeALopin RV, (You Hoo), a sorrel gelding sired by The Lopin Machine out of I Will Be A Good RV, raised by Clay’s grandparents, Ronnie and Vickie Kent. entered the picture.

“Clay came up with the idea of me buying Yoo Hoo and starting to do some all-around events on him along with the Western Pleasure,” Frencl said.

Arrington first saw the youngster right after he was born and has always thought he was special.

“He was a big strong colt, who loped beautifully around the pasture,” he said. “He was honestly breathtaking.”

Arrington started Yoo Hoo and has shown him just a couple of times in Western Pleasure events.

“He picked up everything so naturally and quick,” he said. “He’s been a lot of fun throughout the whole process. I thought he would be a good fit for Lexie, because he has all the right parts. First of all, for the Western Pleasure, and secondly because he looked like he was going be a really good all-arounder which is Lexie’s goal.”

Frencl plans to show Yoo Hoo in 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure classes at the NSBA World Show and Quarter Horse Congress and in Amateur Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show.

In addition to Western Pleasure, she is also working on developing him into an all-around contender, planning to show him in Horsemanship, Showmanship and, with the help of Arrington and his mother, all-around trainer Christie Arrington, Trail.

Frencl grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and has always been passionate about all-around classes. With the support of her grandmother, she started taking riding  lessons at Fitzjoy Farm in Illinois when she was 7 years old. By the time she was 8 she was participating in student shows and by 11 she was competing at 4-H and Open shows. Frencl says she attended her first AQHA show with Lopin For Thrills, a 2008 chestnut gelding by RL Best Of Sudden out of Cookie Leaguer, at the age of 14.

“I would say my riding career started to get a bit more serious when I was 16, when my grandmother bought me BMQ Almost Illegal (Danny), a 2011 bay gelding by BMQ Legacy out of Dansalli, and I started training with Valerie Kearns,” she explained.

With Danny, Frencl was top three in Level 2 Youth Hunter Under Saddle at her first AQHYA Word Show and earned two Congress Reserve Championships and numerous circuit championships.

“Later on, we purchased Earn An Invitation (Ernie) to do the all-around events with,” Frencl explained. “I definitely owe everything I have learned and accomplished to Valerie. She has always been a huge supporter of my riding career and I completely trust her.”

Valerie will be helping Lexie with Yoo Hoo in all-around events but Lexie also loves working with Clay.

“I feel like we make a really good team together and I really value Clay’s opinion as a horseman,” she said. “We are each other’s eyes on the ground and I know I can always ask him for help. It is fun because we bounce ideas off of each other and help sort out problems that we’re having on our horses.”

Clay has only been training professionally for a couple of years now. He operates Clay Arrington Show Horses from his parents facility in Graceville, Florida.

“We have everything we need to get the horses trained to where they need to be – a walker, covered arena, outdoor arena, pastures and a show barn,” Clay said. “We specialize in Western Pleasure and training futurity prospects. I believe consistency is one of the biggest keys to success along with understanding when the horses are ready to be pushed to the next stage comfortably.”

As a non-pro Clay enjoyed tremendous success with such decorated horses as Congress Champion and NSBA World Champion Won It On My RV; Congress Champion Get Radical In My RV; I Will Be A Lopin RV and many more. He also trained RV Not For Hire, the 2022 AQHA Pleasure Versatility Challenge World Champion.

Lexie and Clay are currently enjoying a slower schedule after a non-stop first half of the year. Lexie always appreciates the opportunity to spend time with family back in Illinois and especially her grandmother, who has always been her biggest supporter. “She has supported my riding career from day one and she has a heart of gold,” Frencl said. “I would never have been able to come as far as I have, without her. She is always our number one fan and couldn’t be more supportive of us. And for sure she has a knack for getting everybody to laugh, she’s quite witty to say the least.”