Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Cordial Young Cowboy Rides Quarter Horse Mare To World Show Accolades

“Thank you Sir.” That always naturally congenial acknowledgement is ample verification of a young cowboy’s future successes.

Eager to talk about horses, riding and showing, most polite Ransom Tiffany, just 11-years-old, already has highly notable horseback achievements.

The Council Grove cowboy was in the Top 15 at the recent American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship in Oklahoma City.

Ransom rode his 2009 Quarter Horse mare Country Bay Whiz to high ranking in the Level 3, 13-and-under ranch riding class.

Ransom Tiffany, 11, Council Grove, showed his 2009 Quarter Horse mare Country Bay Whiz called Sage at the recent American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship in Oklahoma City. They were Top 15 out of 42 entries in the Level 3, 13-and-under ranch riding class.

“There were 42 exhibitors, so I felt good since it’s my first year at such a large show,” he admitted.

Shawn and Nicky Tiffany verified: “We are proud parents for sure.”

Additionally special, Mom Nicky recognized, “Ransom has trained the mare called Sage for the past year-and-a-half primarily on his own.”

“Sage is a great horse, but I try to ride nearly every day to keep improving,” Ransom said.

Two weeks before the world show, Ransom had Sage at his grandparents’ place near Lindsey, Oklahoma. “That helped me get myself and my horse focused for the competition,” he admitted.

The proud, happy family of Shawn and Nicky Tiffany along with friends gathered when Ransom Tiffany, 11, Council Grove, posed Country Bay Whiz for a Top 15 portrait at the recent American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship in Oklahoma City.

“All of my family have really been a great help in everything I’d done with my horses,” the young cowboy credited.

Ranch riding class features a pattern to walk, jog and lope maneuvers as if working on a ranch. “The course is often set with cattle nearby like on a ranch to see how the horse performs,” Ransom said.

Noteworthy, the Level-3 division is the competition above beginner riders, although Ransom was just in his first year there. “This was the inaugural 13-and-under division, with Ransom making history as a Kansas representative,” Nicky noted.

Ransom also competed in the Level-2 ranch riding and Level-2-and-3 reining classes, both 18-and-under divisions. “The leveling system is still confusing to many, including myself,” Nicky pointed out.

To be eligible for the prestigious world competition, Ransom had to have sufficient qualifying points at registered Quarter Horse shows. “All of my points came from riding at the Kansas Quarter Horses Association shows in Hutchinson,” he noted.

Showing and winning are not new for the cowboy. “I’ve been competing in the South Central Stock Horse Association and have three yearend highpoint buckles,” Ransom commented.

He collected a number of awards at his hometown Morris County Fair and the District 4-H Horse Show in Salina.

“That qualifies me to show at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson,” Ransom said. For that show, he’ll be riding another family horse, the red roan gelding called Skip.

Horses are a family affair including his parents and his sisters, Taylor, eight; Ainsley, seven; and Whitney, five.

“Of course, their little brother, Stockton, three, joins us in all of our ‘horsey’ activities,” Mom added.

“We all ride and help each other,” Ransom asserted. While there’s certain sharing of mounts, typically four horses are saddled for a family horseback workout.

Each horse has an individual stall with exercise runs making ample daily chores. “We all share the work feeding and caring for our horses as well as the daily stall cleaning,” Ransom insisted.

Too young for set career plans, Ransom said, “I’ll always be a horseman and work with horses my entire life.

“Thank you Sir,” he respectfully concluded.

The world show had more than 3,500 youth 18-and-under entries from throughout the United States and four other countries.

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