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November 8-23, 2013, Oklahoma City

Amateur Equitation Over Fences

Dionne Stigge and Knee Deep In Assets win amateur equitation over fences

Dionne Stigge of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Knee Deep In Assets take the 2012 AQHA world championship in amateur equitation over fences.

Buy preliminary and finals classes on DVD at Envision! Film and Video

Finally, a bride! Knee Deep In Assets wins his gold.

by Christine Hamilton
The American Quarter Horse Journal

Dionne Stigge of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and her steady gray gelding, Knee Deep In Assets, have competed in the finals of at least one amateur over fences class in every AQHA World Championship Show since 2003.

They’ve finished top-five, top-10, third and won amateur reserve world championships in 2008 and 2009 equitation over fences. But never the top spot, until 2012.

In the amateur equitation over fences finals November 9, they finally were the last pair left in the arena.

“I don’t know (what made the difference this year),” Dionne said in her Journal Winning Run interview. “I guess it was just my turn. I don’t know. I feel like he’s a super-steady horse and we are generally good, but maybe it was just my turn to be good enough.”

Dionne was pretty confident before the finals. “I didn’t school last night,” she said. “I know my horse and I just thought he’d be better fresh and I just kind of winged it.”

She added: “(It feels) fantastic. It’s something I’ve wanted for a very, very, very long time.”

Dionne started out riding hunter jumpers and pony-hunters as a girl. When she “ended up with a pony with AQHA papers, a friend convinced her to show in her first AQHA show as a youth, and continued as an amateur.

“I love this show,” she said. "(The World Show) really is my favorite show that I go to all year. I get to see all my friends and I’ve kind of grown up in AQHA, so it’s really nice.”

Adelaide Moncrief Royer of Fort Worth and Steady Spirit ended up winning the reserve world championship.

“I’ve been showing with Adelaide since I was a youth,” Dionne said. “So it was fun to be out there with someone you know and been out there with a lot of times.”

Dionne thanked her mom, Marsha, for cheering from the stands, and her trainer, AQHA Professional Horseman David Warner.

“There is champagne back at the stalls,” she said. “We have a big afternoon planned, and (David) is involved with the (Huntfield AQHA) Derby tomorrow, so I imagine there will be a lot of hustle-bustle tonight.”

Knee Deep In Assets’ work is done for this year. But he’ll be back! And Dionne thinks the Huntfield AQHA Derby finals might be fun to aim at next year.