A small town on the northern plains is home to several cowboy mounted shooting world champions
STORY BY HOLLY CLANAHAN
Originally published in the January-February 2026 edition of the American Quarter Horse Journal. Republished in the True Dakotan with permission from the publisher.
The website for Wessington Springs, South Dakota, paints a charming picture: “Nestled in amongst the scenic Wessington Hills off of Highway 34 in Jerauld County, you will find a strong and resilient community of approximately 1,000 residents.”
The quaint attractions include hiking trails, a great sledding hill, an ice-skating pond and a variety of special events throughout the year. Not one word about being the cowboy mounted shooting capital of the U.S.
We’ll call that a missed marketing opportunity, because of the six AQHA cowboy mounted shooting world champions crowned in 2025, four of them have connections to Wessington Springs. The AQHA Cowboy Mounted Shooting World Championships were held in October in Amarillo as part of the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association World Championships.
“We are a small but tough bunch,” says Jake Krohmer, the amateur world champion who hails from Wessington Springs. Ironically, “We don't really have any local shoots out there, so anything that's under eight hours away, I say is a hometown shoot. The only shoot we have in South Dakota is at the Black Hills Stock Show. So we shoot out there and then make the run to Arizona.”
Jake was riding Mr Inarush, owned by John Krohmer and bred by Dan Miller of Vian, Oklahoma. The 2014 gray gelding–bred for the track–is by Rushago and out of Unforgotten by Dashing Cleat.
Jake shares a hometown with Select world champion Kelli Shryock, who claimed her second gold globe on JMS Firewaters Jewel, who was bred by Amy Schimke and Jean Shultz of Wessington Springs.
The youth winner, Taryn Thompson, was also riding an Amy Schimke-bred mount, BA Metallica, and Taryn herself is from down the road a bit in Groton, South Dakota.
Open world champion Jellybeanz, who now calls California home, was also bred in Wessington Springs by Amy. Amy and her husband, Brett Borkowski, breed, raise and train mounted shooting and barrel racing horses on the century-old working Schimke Ranch.
Their neighbor Kelli, 64, has also earned two reserve world championships on her now-18-year-old sorrel mare whom she has high praise for. “She’s an all-around horse. We use her at home on the ranch. We’ve done a lot of barrel racing, won a lot of money barrel racing on her. She’s great at team penning and loves cattle.” JMS Firewaters Jewel is by Firewater Finale (by renowned barrel sire Fire Water Flit) and out of JK Jewelette by Doc Bruce. Youth world champion Taryn earned her first world title, following in the footsteps of her older brother, Turner Thompson, who has five gold globes from the youth division. Taryn also earned the 2025 reserve youth world championship aboard RY Frosty Little Gun Her gold globewinning horse, BA Metallica, is a 2019 red roan mare by Frostman San Peppy and out of Special Nu Occasion by Metallic Cat.
“It took a while for me to get used to her,” says Taryn, who’s 16, “but she has honestly been so amazing to me. She is so much fun to ride, and once you figure her out, she is just your heart horse forever.”
Jellybeanz, the open AQHA cowboy mounted shooting world champion, is a 2020 brown mare by Frostman San Peppy and out of Firewater Burn by Firewater Finale. She is owned by S. Ronai White of Jackson, Wyoming, and was ridden by Dylan Lawson of Valley Center, California. Her trainer is Dylan’s dad, Kenny Lawson of Valley Center.
“Jellybeanz, she’s a special girl,” Kenny says. “She’s very athletic, and she really is a pleasure to train. She’s very agreeable and tries hard to figure out what you’re asking her to do, and she puts the effort in. I’m just lucky that Ronai is a great horse owner, and she has given us an opportunity to put some work on her, and it has paid off.”
Stepping away from the South Dakota-breds, the Limited youth world champion is Jaci Rae Reisenauer of South Heart, North Dakota, riding Jerrys Sippin Whizkey. “Jerry” is owned by Jaci’s grandfather, Keith Benz of Bismarck, North Dakota, who competes in the Select division, and was bred by Rhodes River Ranch Inc. of Arlington, Washington, The now 11-year-old buckskin gelding is by AQHA world champion reiner Whizkey N Diamonds and is out of Jerrys Sippin Soda by Jerry Lees Surprise.
“He’s so naughty sometimes,” Jaci, 17, says with a laugh. “But I love him to death because he’s quick. He turns for me so well, he listens to me so well, and we just work so well together.”
Many of the cowboy mounted shooters talk about the importance of family and how this is a sport well-suited for multiple generations. Limited Select world champion Tracy Sides of Franklinton, North Carolina, is a great example.
“My daughter (Hope Sides) started shooting first, and then it wasn’t long until I got into it. She was online schooling the past two years, so she and I took off, and we’ve been across this country five times this year,” Tracy says, making for priceless father-daughter time. While some shooters are running for points, he says, “We’re running for fun memories.”
The horse who made it possible for Tracy is Poco Star Petie, a 2008 bay roan gelding bred by Charlie Keziah of Wingate, North Carolina. He is by Watch Joe Tucker and out of Poco Red Roan Lady by Watch Poco Star.
Get full results, as well as videos of the winning runs, at www.aqha.com/cmsworld.