Thirteen riders from Rosewood Services began the horse-show season by competing June 22 and 23 at the South Central Stock Horse Association (SCSHA) horse show at the Celebration Center in Lyons.
Though most of Rosewood’s riders had previously competed in horse shows, four riders in the group were experiencing competitive riding for the first time. Jimmy Wonsetler, Rae Griffin, Crystal Alkire and Jesse Kerns participate weekly in equine therapy riding at Rosewood Ranch, but horse shows are a new venture for the quartet. Wonsetler placed first in Showmanship and third in Horsemanship and Trail. Alkire placed second in Showmanship, followed by Griffin in fourth place, and Kerns in seventh.
“Competing for the first time can be extremely nerve racking, but our first-time competitors did exceptionally well,” said Rosewood Ranch manager Eric Hammond. “As a group, we did extremely well, too. Lyons is the perfect environment to get our horse show season started.”
Other first-place finishers for Rosewood were Chris Devine, Jaime Crone, Charles Bortz, Josh Trimmer, and Krystal Thorne. Rosewood earned nine first-place awards and recorded 22 top-three finishes in its first competition. Other riders competing for Rosewood were Tim Barry, Shawn Ledesma, Mary Minear, Melissa Trimmer, Jesse Kerns and Crystal Alkire. The riders competed with horses from the Rosewood Ranch.
Next on the schedule, the riders will compete July 27 and 28 at the Hutchinson State Fair Grounds, and in mid-August they’ll compete at the National Snaffle Bit Association World Championship Show in Tulsa.
Rosewood’s show competitors train weekly at Rosewood Ranch, a full-working horse ranch near Pawnee Rock. The Ranch serves nearly 50 adults from Rosewood Services. It also provides services on a weekly basis to more than 40 children with developmental disabilities.
Rosewood Results from SCSHA Horse Show,  Lyons, KS June 22-23, 2013
June 22 – (double judged accounts for placing twice in the same category)
Josh Trimmer: 1st and 5th/Showmanship, 3rd and 4th/Horsemanship, 1st and 4th/Trail
Mary Minear: 2nd (two ribbons)/Showmanship, 2nd and 3rd places/Horsemanship, 4th and 5th/Trail
Jaime Crone: 3rd (two ribbons)/Showmanship, 1st and 4th/Horsemanship, 1st and 2nd/Trail
Krystal Thorne: 1st and 4th/Showmanship, 6th (two ribbons)/Horsemanship, 2nd and 5th/Trail
Tim Barry: 4th and 5th/Showmanship, 5th (two ribbons)/Horsemanship, 6th (two ribbons)/Trail
Chris Devine: 6th (two ribbons)/Showmanship, 1st and 2nd/Horsemanship, 3rd   (two ribbons)/Trail
June 23
Charles Bortz: 6th/Showmanship, 1st/Horsemanship, 1st/Trail
Melissa Trimmer: 5th/Showmanship, 4th/Horsemanship, 4th/Trail
Shawn Ledesma: 3rd/Showmanship, 2nd/Horsemanship, 2nd/Trail
Jimmy Wonsetler: 1st/Showmanship, 3rd/Horsemanship, 3rd/Trail
Crystal Alkire: 2nd/Showmanship
Rae Griffin: 4th/Showmanship
Jesse Kerns: 7th/Showmanship