OklahomaHorses Magazine September 2021

8 OklahomaHorses • September/October 2021 W inning the two-year-old class at the Oklahoma State 4-H Horse Show has been a dream of Addison Criner’s for as long as she can remember. At just 14 years old, she made that dream a reality in her first appearance in the class with her horse Lizzie. Hailing from Coweta in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Addison essentially learned how to ride halter horses in the family pasture. In the last few years, she felt it was time to step up her game as a showman. This homegrown state champion was the result of that drive to work harder and achieve more. “Addison is five-foot-ten, so we were trying to breed for a horse that would be tall enough for her,” said Addison’s mom, Lori Criner, who is also her riding coach. “I grew up showing in the all-around event, but when I went to col- lege, we switched to halter. When Addie wanted to do more than show halter horses, we made the decision to breed for better performance horses.” Colorful Roots Addison’s mom has always been involved with paint and pinto horses. When Addison started to show in all-around events, things got a little spotted. Two of Addison’s first major show horses were the vibrantly spotted Pony of the Americas (POA) breed. Addison has loved riding and showing horses with her mom, so joining 4-H as soon as she was old enough was a natural progression. In 2015, Addison won high point in speed events at the POA Congress and came back in 2017 to win the all-around high point award. “After I outgrew my POA, we started breeding our own horses to get something really nice for me to show in the future,” said the 14-year-old. “Lizzie was the only two-year- old for me to pick from this year, so it was an easy choice to decide that I was going to give it [the two-year-old class] a go this year.” The sorrel overo mare was sired by All Time Fancy and out of R Big Time Fancy. Since the day Lizzie hit the ground, Addison has been working toward showing in the two-year-old class. It’s just a natural part of raising your own horses, but it also helped to forge a bond between the pair that likely propelled them to success. A Fine Filly “We started working with Lizzie right after she was born, but she just naturally loves to be around people,” Addison said of the 17-hand filly. “I used to and still do run through the pasture with her, and she just follows right along. When we started teaching her how to lead and do showmanship, it Rooted in 4-H by Lindsay Humphrey Fourteen-year-old Wins Two-year-old Class at State 4-H Horse Show