{"id":38649,"date":"2026-05-20T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T14:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=38649"},"modified":"2026-05-20T10:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:07:38","slug":"area-horse-drill-team-wins-iowa-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38649-area-horse-drill-team-wins-iowa-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Area Horse Drill Team Wins Iowa Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><div dir=\"auto\"><em>BEHIND THE BIT DRILL TEAM MEMBERS, LEFT TO RIGHT: Kynlee Spurlock of Fairfield, Aleena Winkler of Washington, IN, Stella Sapp of Beecher City, Jalyn Jansen of Effingham, Emily Draege of Louisville, Avery Hunter of Mulberry Grove, Brynn Cunningham of Parkersburg, Rylee Springmeyer of Flora, and Olivia Fergus of Mason<\/em><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Behind the Bit Drill Team captured the championship at the Iowa Horse Fair Drill Competition held May 8\u201310 in Des Moines.<\/div>\n<p>Competing against talented teams from across the region, Behind the Bit delivered a standout performance showcasing precision horsemanship, teamwork, creativity, and dedication in the arena. The team\u2019s hard work, long practice hours, and passion for their horses were on full display throughout the weekend competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoing into this drill competition, I had zero expectations, especially since we have never competed before but I thought it would be a good experience for them. What I didn\u2019t expect was the amount of hard work, dedication, and heart this team would pour into every practice and their winning performance. Watching these cowgirls grow, encourage one another, and give it their all has made this experience more rewarding than I ever imagined.\u201d said Behind the Bit Coach Emily Draege.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Iowa Horse Fair\u00a0is one of the Midwest\u2019s premier equine events, bringing together horse enthusiasts, competitors, clinicians, and vendors for a weekend celebrating the equine industry and western heritage.<\/p>\n<p>Behind the Bit Drill Team extended appreciation to families, sponsors, supporters, and the event organizers for helping make the experience unforgettable.<\/p>\n<p>Draege said, &#8220;The team looks forward to continuing its successful season and representing the sport of equestrian drill with excellence, sportsmanship, and community spirit.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BEHIND THE BIT DRILL TEAM MEMBERS, LEFT TO RIGHT: Kynlee Spurlock of Fairfield, Aleena Winkler of Washington, IN, Stella Sapp of Beecher City, Jalyn Jansen of Effingham, Emily Draege of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":38653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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