Save the Best Ride for Last!

IRONWOOD, MI - Thursday, October 09, 2008 - Thirteen year old Nicole Kuklinski is headed to Columbus , Ohio with her Quarter Horse gelding, This Chips A Breeze, for what she hopes is the best ride of her life!

Nicole, who has been showing horses for less than 3 years, competed at American Quarter Horse Associations shows for the first time last summer. Her goal for the first summer was just to earn a couple of national American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) points and to qualify for the UPQHYA `Congress' Team. She easily surpassed both of these goals, earning 20 national AQHA points and gaining a spot on the UP Congress Team in the Hunter under Saddle class, her favorite class. While attending The All American Quarter Horse Congress last October, Nicole set her goals for 2008: earn the 2008 UPQHA 13 & Under High Point Award, try for an AQHA All Around Award, and to hopefully make the finals in at least one class at the 2008 `Congress'.

To date, Nicole and `Breeze' have far exceeded Nicole's 2008 goals. They have earned 2 AQHA all-arounds, and 2 reserve all-arounds, an AQHA Register of Merit Award (ROM), are the 2008 UPQHA 13 & Under High Point team, the 2008 UPQHA Reserve High Point Novice Youth team, are the 2008 UPQHA High Point Champions or Reserve Champions in 7 different youth classes and have earned well over 50 AQHA national points in just 6 week-ends this past summer. `Breeze' also earned 2008 UPQHA High Point Champion Awards with trainer/instructor Doreen Passuello of Ironwood, in the AQHA open green hunter under saddle and senior hunter under saddle classes.

On October 15th, Nicole, Breeze, Nicole's mom, Jackie, and Doreen Passuello, will head to Ohio for a week for their last competition of 2008. The All American Quarter Horse Congress is the world's largest single breed horse show, lasting 3 weeks, with over 8,500 horses competing. Nicole and Breeze will show in 5 different youth classes. As most classes at this show consist of up to 150 entries or more, making the cut of 25 riders for the finals in a class is a huge accomplishment. And should Nicole and Breeze place in the top ten in a class, Nicole's mother and her trainer have promised a HUGE celebration one night (even though their usual routine is bedtime by 9 o'clock on show week-ends)!

Nicole is the daughter of Jackie Kuklinski of Hurley and Gary Kuklinski of Ironwood. She recently posed in her western show outfit for photographs (SEE PHOTO ABOVE). Several photos of Nicole and Breeze are currently in the October issue of the national horse magazine, The Equine Chronicle.