Kendall Nygren, of St. Petersburg, Florida, set a goal to compete at the 2026 NSBA World Championship Show, and she exceeded all of her expectations when she won the Heroes On Horses Walk Trot Pattern class on Friday. She showed her horse, The Al Capone, to the win.

Army Intelligence To Veteran Services

Kendall is not only a veteran, but also continues to advocate for veterans in her career, and being able to share her Heroes On Horses experience with other veterans is an important part of her journey. Kendall served eight years in the United States Army as an all-source intelligence officer prior to devoting her time to Shield Of Faith, and her husband, David, currently serves in cybersecurity in the Navy.

“I attend law school at Simpson University, which specializes in disabled veteran law, and I work for a non-profit called Shield Of Faith Missions. I was an intelligence analyst for a decade, and also served as a contractor, and just felt like I needed a new mission. I found it again with my people.” she explained. 

“We’re a faith-based non-profit providing high end medical services to veterans free of charge. We bring them in and combine therapies like acupuncture and massage with mental health services, physical therapy and the medicines they need. We focus on four pillars: physical, mental, spiritual and social.”

A Horse Life Interrupted

Kendall grew up riding horses. “I started riding in the second grade, but I fell out of it when I joined the Army because there was no time and no money to do it, like many people. I became disabled during my service, and one thing I told my husband was I needed to get back into riding, and we started that process when I got out of the Army,” she said.

“Coming back to horses has knit a piece of my soul back together. I’ve lost 65 pounds, my mental health is better than ever. I have the outlet that I knew I was still craving. That horse was everything I needed and more. He balances me when my legs are too weak to hold me. He’s so kind and so sweet and if I don’t have it in me and I’m too weak to ride, I detail the horse. He’s gray, and he’s God’s karmic joke to my life because with years of Army service and all the knit-picking details, God gave me a horse that uses poop as a pillow.”

Kendall’s first world show experience has been everything she hoped it would be. “I never got to go to a World Show as a kid – I was involved in Horse Bowl and Hippology and all of the educational things, but I was so jealous of all the kids who got to ride their horses at the Quarter Horse Congress and Youth World. Not only did we get it the first time we stepped into the arena – it’s flummoxing, it’s amazing and it’s the cumulation of years of hard work to get here and the beginning of many more. 

“My trainer Cheryl (Hawkins) has done an incredible job bringing us through and getting us to this World Show. I’m somehow living the life that 16 year old me dreamed of even though she never saw it in all the military service. She has pushed me and challenged me and she has been my therapist.”

Kendall also credits the support of her husband. “My husband helped me purchase Parker two years ago,” she said. “I have a partner who will stand beside me and watch me throw all of our money at an insane dream that benefits him in no way, and creates horrible sweaty weekends where he watches horses go around in a circle in a perplexing pattern that he fails to understand, yet he’s there every time – filming my rides like it’s game tape.”

She also credits a huge support group. “I have a great team around me from the law school that allowed me to miss the first days of class to become a world champion, to my job that understood I needed to go do this and be gone for a week, to my family who loves and supports me yet understood my need for privacy this first time around,” Kendall said.

The Benefits Of Horses For Veterans

She notes that horses bring people, especially veterans, peace. “Biologically, they are a prey animal, and the let you as a predator get on them on their blind spot and ask you ‘why are you scared?’” she said. “Parker is the kind of horse that absorbs it and takes it in stride. I have watched veterans in our clinic go out to equine therapy and they see it too. They always come back to me and say that they get it. I think every veteran should try it. Even if riding isn’t for you, there are ground programs. Because there is something about horses that grounds us in a way I don’t think a lot of other things do.”

She is humbled but yet proud of her first NSBA World Show. I get to ride representing the veteran community that I love and that I’m building my life around,” she said. “My goal was to not fall off and not die, and we came out a winner. This is a privilege, and I’m so excited to step into the arena with my brothers and sisters. I can’t wait to tell everyone I know about this great program created just for us.”

Kendall also placed fourth in the Heroes On Horses Walk Trot Western Pleasure and will continue to compete in Walk Trot events at this year’s show.

About NSBA

Established in 1983, National Snaffle Bit Association has expanded from its roots in the Western Pleasure discipline to recognize various disciplines and ten breed associations in competition. NSBA’s mission is to grow the show horse community through various equine programs and events where every activity benefits horses, breeders, owners and exhibitors alike.

National Snaffle Bit Association has more than 20,000 active members and more than 44,000 registered horses across its ten alliance breed organizations. NSBA members earn more than $13.5 million in monetary awards at NSBA-sanctioned horse shows annually, and the association sanctions nearly 600 horse show events and close to 200,000 horse show entries each year.

To learn more about NSBA, please visit nsba.com.