How many 10-year-olds can claim the heady feeling of being a national champion? Chase Stewart can.

Along with older sisters Kate and Brook, Chase, of Union,

competed at the 15th Annual Youth National Arabian and Half Arabian

Championship Horse Show last July. The week-long event was held at the

Expo in Albuquerque, N.M., and attended by more than 30,000 people.

Competing in the Arabian Country English Pleasure Walk/Trot for age 10 and under class, Chase took first place.

“Chase came home with a beautiful bronze trophy, roses, ribbons

and a National Champion jacket. That means he went undefeated in 2007 –

not bad for a little guy from Union. The girls both brought home

National Top Tens in their classes, as well. I’m so proud of them all,”

said Beth Stewart, the trio’s mother.

Chase rode Huckleberry Blues, an Arabian owned by father Doug

Stewart, Junction City. Horse and rider impressed the three-judge

panel, which all tapped the pair as first pick for champions in their

class.

Last year, the Stewart kids had their first taste of the big

dance when they spent the summer qualifying to compete at the 2006

Youth Arabian Nationals. They did.

Kate competed in both the junior to ride and junior owner to

ride in the 13 and under age class and made it as a finalist in the top

10 in both competitions. Brooke competed in the half-Arabian walk/trot

western pleasure competition for the 10 and under class and made it

into the top 16.

Last year, Chase competed in the Arabian walk/trot country

pleasure for 10 and under and also made it to the final top 10. But

this year, the young horseman took his summer’s worth of hard work and

rode it all the way to the top.

More than 1,000 horses from across the United States and

Canada competed in 124 classes in a wide variety of disciplines at 2007

youth nationals. The 4,000-member Arabian Horse Youth Association

across the U.S. and Canada makes up approximately 10 percent of the

Arabian Horse Association.