Luke Gingerich and Tinseltowns Whizard (Chloe) 2022 Congress Open Freestyle Reining Reserve Champion

Tinseltowns Whizard, Reserve Champion in the Congress Open Freestyle Reining... I don't think I have yet fully processed those words. It certainly didn't sink in on Saturday night, as it was all a bit surreal. But yesterday, a little while after I woke up, it hit me out of the blue like a ton of bricks... The tears started coming, and they didn't stop for a long time... Apparently when you pour this much of your heart and soul into a horse, it brings out emotions that cannot be put into words. Chloe has truly touched a part of me that no other animal has touched before, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be her person. This bridleless journey with her has been hands down one of the most difficult undertakings of my life. But I will be quick to say that it has also absolutely been hands down one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things I have poured my heart into. She tried her heart out for me Saturday night, and I am so proud of her. My goal this year was to help her to come back significantly stronger, not only physically, but also, and especially, mentally. While I knew I had seen and felt so much improvement at home, I was also well aware that it might not all come together the same way in our freestyle, especially because I have had such limited opportunities to be able to show her due to remaining bridleless, and therefore have not had much history of being able to see how to best prepare her before going in to show. But even in spite of that, she brought it all together so incredibly well, and even with a few bobbles on both of our ends, she rode so beautifully for me, and scored a 225 1/2. And I know we still haven't even reached the top of her potential. But I am in this for the long haul with her, so I'm looking forward to continuing this ride with her and peeling back more layers, little by little. I know Chloe doesn't care about the score, but one of my ultimate goals is to continue working to hopefully change perceptions of what is possible when combining relationship-based training and positive reinforcement (along with ethical negative reinforcement), with high-level performance goals, rather than thinking that they are mutually exclusive, and I am so thankful that she is helping me to do that. I want to thank Jesse and Stacy Westfall, two of my most influential mentors, for inspiring me, for being so willing to invest in me, for always supporting and encouraging me, and for modeling what it looks like to live with integrity, to always put your horse first, and to see this work as the art that it is by putting in the thousands of hours required to train your own horses and build that relationship. This past week at Congress, Chloe and I logged our 500th recorded ride together, and that doesn’t account for the hundreds, if not thousands, of hours spent working together at liberty on the ground. Thank you to Wendy Platt Johnson for your friendship, encouragement, and for all you do for me, my horses, and my business on a daily basis, and then always being so willing to jump in and help with all of the extra work that comes with an event like this. Thank you to Rebecca White for always working your creative magic for my freestyles, for going along with my ideas, and figuring out how to make it all come together. Thank you to Kaylee Van Winkle for being at my side through all of this, for believing in me, encouraging me, and for wanting to be a part of it all. Thank you to Sarah Casey Kelley for editing my freestyle music, even with such short notice, and helping me bring it all together. To my mother, Mary Gingerich, and the rest of my family, friends, and clients, who came out to support us this week and helped out in any way, thank you! I want to thank God for my horses, my people, and the opportunity to live the life I live, and to share it with so many amazing people and horses. Also thank you to my amazing sponsors who help make it possible for me to do what I do. Thank you for keeping my horses looking and feeling their best! #performanceliberty #relationshipbasedperformance #freestylereining #stronger #thescore #cryptoaero #espanasilk #yarnellequinemassage #weaverleather #lakotaofohio