The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Crested Butte fundraiser Saturday
Last fall Crested Butte’s Bailey Armbrecht and her horse Night’N Dale left for Kentucky seeking a national title. Bailey did very well at the region five national qualifier that was held at the Colorado horse park in September 2024. At only 14, Bailey is one of the youngest riders in her division. The junior division accepts riders between 14 and 18 as of January 1 of that competition year. Her horse Night’N Dale, informally known as “Cookie” because she is such a sweet mare, is also young at only six years old.
Bailey and Cookie are considered a young pair and have only been together a year and a half. During the regional competition, the pair entered into three different classes: A first level, freestyle and a second level dressage test. She took champion and first and second level and took the reserve in the first level freestyle. A moment that she dreamed about only a year prior had become a reality. A milestone had indeed been placed at her feet on the road in front of her. With regionals behind her, Bailey sends her entry into the United States Dressage Federation in Lexington, Kentucky. Again, she enters into the same three classes, giving her and Cookie three chances at being national champions.
Leading up to the departure for the National Dressage finals brought a multitude of challenges to overcome, but anything worth having won’t come easy. On Saturday, November 2, 2024 while some prepared their thoughts for the voting box, Bailey, her mom Jennifer, her dog Aspen and all six of their horses packed up and hit the road for the Kentucky horse park.
As the competition unfolded, Bailey took a respectable sixth place on a score of 68% in her first level test, but with some unfortunate naughtiness from the young Cookie, they did not place in the first level freestyle. With only the second level test to go on the last day of the competition they were feeling the fatigue that creeps in and challenges even the strongest of souls but when you come to finals, you dig deep, find your “Titan Grit” and soldier on.
As second to go in a class of 16 riders and a score of 66.190% they worried it wasn’t enough. Watching and waiting for the remaining 14 riders to go was this side of agony. The time seemed to drag on like a boulder being pulled uphill in the sludge of a lost canyon. Finally, after two hours and 11 minutes, they looked at the scoreboard and saw Bailey and Night’N Dale at the top. She had won the Second Level Junior Dressage test. A truly special moment, indeed. All the hard work in and out of the saddle had led to this very moment. A treasure etched in time.
As we look east to watch the sunrise again Bailey and Cookie have a new goal on the horizon, the North American Youth Championships in Traverse City, Michigan on July 29 through August 3.
This will be Bailey‘s first competition where she will be part of a team. She is very excited to meet new people and possibly make some new friends. The NAYC’s is run like a Youth Olympics. The horse and rider combinations will need FEI (Federation Equestrian International) numbers to compete. The scores that Bailey receives at this competition will be on her record for her entire career and for the whole world to see.
Bailey and the other five Equestrian athletes will be running a fundraiser to be able to go to this national competition. We will be accepting donations and items for a silent auction. We will be holding the silent auction this weekend on July 6 at 1 p.m along with demonstrations. Bailey will also be performing her Junior Freestyle test with Night’N Dale. Bailey has personally choreographed her own floor plan and music for this competition.
We hope you will join us at 26491 Studley Lane located about a mile south of Crested Butte on the west side of Hwy 135, for this fun event. Light refreshments will be served!
