Mary Katherine and Marguerite Camp of Longview, Texas have always been close as sisters, so it was no surprise that when Marguerite began taking riding lessons at a local barn Mary Katherine was right there with her.

The two have been competing against and with each other as their passion for the American Paint Horse has grown.

At the age of 5, Mary Katherine began showing at local shows under the guidance of Monte Turnbow Show Horses. Throughout her Walk-Trot years she showed Zippos Goldcard (Zippy). Together with Zippy Camp won her first APHA World Championship in Walk-Trot Equitation.

When it was time for her to advance to Novice events her parents, Mark and Rebecca, purchased Dontcha Luv A Star, sired by Dontcha Luv Magic. But Mary Katherine has really hit her stride with her current show partner, Zippos Redemption (Tucker), a 1998 bay overo gelding by Zippos Sensation. Camp shows Tucker in all-around events under the guidance of Sara Simons and RJ King.

“Tucker and I had our biggest show accomplishment last summer,” Camp recalls. “We were Reserve World Champions in the 14-18 Showmanship. It was my first year in 14-18 and I honestly just went out there to please my trainer, because we had been working really hard on it over the past year.”

Camp says Showmanship is her favorite class to watch because of the prestige of the class and the skill it takes to be so in-tune with your horse. However, her favorite class to ride would be Western Riding. She loves showing horses because of all the good things she believes come out of it like the opportunity to meet people from all over. She has had friend in the show world that she even considers part of her family.

“We call MK (Mary Katherine) Don King because her hair is always wild and unruly,” Simons says. “She is also super funny, but when she is preparing to show she is all business.”

With all that she has learned over the years the one thing she holds on to is that you only get out of showing what you put in.

“Hard work is necessary if you want to be competitive with the other exhibitors,” Camp explains. “But also I have been taught it isn’t all about the placings. If you put out a pattern that makes you and your trainer happy but you didn’t place as high as expected, it is alright because you pleased the people that matter the most.”

Mary Katherine says her sister, Marguerite, is her hero and insists that she inspires her to be better every single day.

While most would struggle with showing alongside their sister, Mary Katherine and Marguerite say the experience has helped them.

“Each of us has had our best classes and we support each other during them,” Camp says. “This past world show I felt nothing but joy for my sister and her horse, Radicalized, when she won a Reserve World Championship in the Hunter Under Saddle, and I know she felt the same when I was Reserve in the Equitation. I love showing with her because we have each other to talk to about the pattern and about our plans for inside the show ring. We know that Sara will have us, along with our horses, prepared so there is not really any tension because we both know we are going to do the best we can.”

When she’s not at a horse show Camp is busy with school as a junior at Longview High School, where she is a member of the school’s drill team. She is also a member of the Senior Company dance team at Fusion Dance Academy. There she practices twice a week for two hours and often even more when it is closer to competition season. The team competes throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After graduation Camp hopes to attend Louisiana State University or the University of North Texas to pursue a career in the medical field such as physician’s assistant.