RATHDRUM — After having both hips and knees replaced, rheumatoid arthritis, back surgery, bone fusion for her neck and heart surgery, Dawn Slauson calls herself “a walking bionic woman.” 

However, the 68-year-old was able to work around those medical setbacks to compete alongside her horse, Wyatt, to win the world ABRA championship for the ranch amateur showmanship title in Tulsa, Okla. 

“It’s my hardest class for me to do, but I was determined, this was my dream and I found my horse,” Slauson said.  

For their category, horse and owner move in sync across the ground in a kind of dance. 

“You are walking and jogging beside your horse in a pattern, you jog in sync with your horse and then you stop on a dime,” Slauson described. 

The human then has to quickly get the horse’s feet into alignment within three seconds in order to rate a high score. 

Slauson began showing horses about 15 years ago. She said she’s been waiting for the right horse and when Wyatt came to her attention five years ago, she bought him sight unseen because of his sweet disposition. 

“If he had a human job, he would be a Walmart greeter. He wants to be friends with everyone,” Slauson said.  “He always looks after me.” 

Some equestrian events call for slow, sharp, accentuated movements, but what Slauson prefers about ranch horse events is that they value natural movements. 

From the beginning, it was clear Wyatt had the skills to do well.

“Wyatt did not want to go slow,” Slauson said. 

There were 476 buckskin horse entries competing in a variety of categories in the ABRA world championship in late July. 

Kelsey Masterson of Masterson Show Horses helped the pair train ahead of the competition and work on ranch showmanship. 

“My trainer said, 'Pretend like you’re carrying a tray of margaritas, do not spill the margaritas,’” Slauson said. “I pinched myself that we actually pulled it off.” 

She hopes to set an example for other people who aren’t sure they can accomplish their goals after setbacks like the physical ones she faced. 

“You can overcome a lot of things and still succeed at a dream," Slauson said. 

    Wyatt the horse and Dawn Slauson won the amateur ranch showmanship title in the 2025 world championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
  

    Dawn Slauson's belt buckle prize for winning the amateur showmanship ranch title at the ABRA world championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma this summer.