Lifelong Pittsburgh county horsewoman Macie Graves, 19, of Hartshorne claimed her very first AQHYA youth barrel racing world championship title in her final year of eligibility. “I just can’t believe it’s happened to me. My father, Lance Graves, is a barrel racing industry legend.
I grew up watching him win multiple AQHA World Championships and the thrill of receiving those iconic “golden globe” trophies was incredible. I used to dream that maybe one day, it could be me. Thanks to my amazing equine partner “Hickory’s Hot Native” I have been blessed to achieve a lifetime dream!” The AQHYA World Championship show is held annually in August at the Jim Norick Coliseum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and boasts over 3,000 entries from all across the United States and Six foreign countries.
Young horseman ages 19 and under gather in Oklahoma for two weeks of hard fought competition in an effort to be crowned “world champion” in each respective equine discipline. The barrel racing competition began on Saturday, Aug. 10 with the Level two barrel racing finals as well as the level 3 preliminary round of competition.
Macie and her horse affectionately called “Dude” had a strong performance on Saturday scoring a 16.89 that won the Level 2 finals and qualified the team back with the 3rd fastest qualifying time to Sunday’s world championship finale. “I was so excited to win the L2 finals! We received a beautiful trophy, buckle and leather coat and of course the op.