Suffolk native nabs three world titles

The forecast is sunny for Suffolk’s Meghan O’Malley to continue winning world championships in show with her 11-year-old buckskin mare A Chanceof Blueskies.

O’Malley, 35, recalls the scope of her dreams when she was a young girl, still longing for a horse all her own.

“I never had aspirations of going to the world show back then,” she said.

Nevertheless, this year continued an incredible run in the most dominating fashion yet.

She won the world championship titles in amateur hunter hack, amateur working hunter and amateur equitation over fences at the recent American Quarter Horse Association 2013 Bank of America Amateur World Championship Show in Oklahoma City.

Lucy, as the horse is affectionately known, now has nine world titles under her saddle. Three have been earned in the open division, which features professional competitors, and six came in the amateur division.

Though O’Malley is hardly new to the world stage by this point, it has hardly gotten old.

“It was probably the most exciting year just because winning all three (classes) was just really special,” she said.

It is also uncommon.

“I’ve been going to the world show since 2007 with Lucy and since then, there has not been anybody that’s won all three,” O’Malley said.

In the hunter hack class, the horse is judged on its form during jumps and its walking, trotting, cantering and general manners when going around the ring.

The amateur working hunter class involves a longer course of jumps during which the horse must maintain a consistent pace.

The amateur equitation over fences class is judged on the rider.

“It’s judging the rider’s position and control,” O’Malley said.

The course with jumps is harder and presents riders with options either easy or difficult.

“The difficult option is always the best one to take,” she said.

O’Malley cited this title as a huge milestone for her career, because she said she does not consider herself great at the class’ required elements.

The achievement is even more impressive after considering she does not get to ride Lucy consistently throughout the year because the horse stays in Minnesota with a trainer.

O’Malley rode her at different events around the country during the year to earn the points necessary to qualify for the world show, but otherwise, they are separated. Consequently, although she keeps fit by riding horses locally, O’Malley’s preparation is largely mental.

“I spend a lot of my time thinking about what it is like to ride her,” and she ponders “what I want it to look like and what I want it to feel like.”

By the time O’Malley goes in the ring in Oklahoma City, “It’s automatic, because I’ve thought about it so much,” she said.

As for why Lucy is so good, O’Malley, who purchased the horse when she was 9 months old, has a simple answer.

“She was just born that way,” she said. “To me, she’s just the ideal quarter horse hunter. She’s beautiful to look at, she’s a beautiful mover, she jumps really well. There’s not a whole lot of bad things you can say about her.”

For an English horse, she is small and has an unusual color that, years ago, made some erroneously assume she would not be good.

“I don’t think they’re looking at her color anymore,” O’Malley said. “She’s just really good at her job.”

Participants at the world show who qualified in at least three classes were eligible for the 2013 Farnam All-Around Amateur award. Some may qualify in as many as six. Top 10 finishers in each class would be awarded points, and based on that total, an all-around winner was selected. O’Malley and Lucy took home the prize.

As an amateur, O’Malley said winning the amateur award is “the absolute pinnacle, I just don’t think it gets better than that.”

She remembers when she 12 or 13 years old, getting up to watch the AQHA world show highlights broadcast on ESPN at 2 a.m. and seeing someone win the all-around amateur award.

She said she could not even imagine what it was like then. Now that it has happened to her, she still cannot.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said.

The combined purse for the three world titles and the all-around award equaled $44,246.85 plus additional prizes.

After she started showing quarter horses at the age of 14, her only goal was to do regional shows, hoping to place and hear her name called.

Now the whole world has heard it.