Showing horses is keeping one local youth on the move this summer.

Tessa Hendrickson, daughter of Marcus and Julie Hendrickson of rural Albert Lea, has been to large shows in Wyoming, Arizona, Youth Nationals in New Mexico, and smaller shows in Freeborn County and the Twin Cities so far this year. On Friday, she left to compete at the Canadian Nationals.

Tessa and her horse, King Phar, an Arabian, have been enjoying success at the shows. At regionals, King and Tessa have received grand champion showmanship at halter honors, and received reserve champion in four English classes. At Youth Nationals, they received two Top 10 honors and showed in their first park class, which is similar to English.

Last year at Canadian Nationals, King Phar and his trainer, who is from Waconia, were named national champions in native costume. In the showmanship class, Tessa and King were national reserve national champions.

Tessa said she’s sad because this is the third and final year she’ll be showing King Phar. &uot;I’ve done all I can with him,&uot; she said. However, they’ve bred another horse so they’ll continue to have his bloodlines.

&uot;He’s got an awesome personality,&uot; Tessa said.

The Hendrickson family enjoys horses, and Arabians in particular.

&uot;Mom had a show horse and even went to a school for riding,&uot; Tessa said. &uot;And when they were first married, my mom and dad both trained horses.&uot;

Tessa is the only family member who currently shows horses. She also shows through 4-H and is a member of the MI Arabian Club.

She’s begun showing another horse, Pooh, and will have him at the annual Labor Day weekend show sponsored by the MI club.

Tessa said she enjoys English Pleasure the most of all classes in which she competes. &uot;I like the action and hearing the music. I like knowing the horse enjoys it as much as I do,&uot; she said. &uot;With their ears up, it makes them look good.&uot;

In the class, the horses lift their legs high from the ground, so it’s quite a workout for them.

In native costume, the horse and rider dress in clothing appropriate to desert nomads, designed to keep both horse and rider cool. The horse is then shown at a walk, canter and a hard gallop.

Tessa will be a senior at Albert Lea High School this fall and plans to take college courses through the post-secondary options plan. After that, she said she is leaning toward a career in equine business or management.

&uot;I’ll never get rid of my horses,&uot; Tessa said. &uot;That’s a habit I’ll never be broken of.&uot;