Senior Katie Coonce has a love for horses, a passion for showing them and a skill at competing that leads to great success.

Coonce finished first place in the Iowa Fall Classic horse show, which took place on September 22 through 26. The official title for Coonce and her horse’s achievement is Youth Highpoint Horse.

Coonce had a particular advantage at this show in Des Moines, Iowa. Competing in shows frequently requires young contestants to miss school, and as part of this one took place on a Thursday and Friday, many contestants opted to attend school and not the beginning of the competition. Coonce decided to compete on those first days.

“I went up there Thursday and Friday so we kind of had a point lead advantage because other people weren’t showing those two days. When people got there on Saturday and Sunday it became a lot more difficult. We won by around nine points only, which wasn’t that big of a gap,” Coonce said.

Coonce has been competing for 10 seasons, and her success is not limited to the Iowa show or state. She travels every weekend to different shows, some local circuits and others farther away. Over the past season, Coonce competed at region 12 in Mississippi where she won Overall High Point Champion in the Western Pleasure event. She also competed at the World Championship Show in Oklahoma, which was a nine day competition.

Perhaps Coonce’s success stems from her unusually strong relationship with her horse. She bought her horse, Diesel D, named after his father, when he was only three, and has been the only person to ever ride him. This situation is unique to Coonce because the majority of competitors purchase their horses at a young age and immediately send them off to be trained.

“People send their horses away to a professional trainer and don’t ever see them. The trainer rides their horse for three hours a day, and then the kid just buys a bunch of expensive show clothing, jumps up on him and wins classes. They don’t actually get to know their horse. Diesel lives with me and I ride him every day, so we know when we get in the pin we can make adjustments and work together. It shows that whenever I win a class, I did it myself, and I don’t need someone to do it for me,” Coonce said.

At horse shows, members compete within divisions by horse and age. Coonce and Diesel D compete in AQHA, the group for those with Quarter Horses, in the 15 years old and up group. Quarter Horses are large and calm. Within her division, Coonce competes in the events Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, English and Equitation.