Elizabeth “Liz” Marmor, of Devine, Texas is one of the five riders in America selected to represent Team USA in the 2023 Youth World Cup. The American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup (YWC) is an international event held every two years and hosted by different countries.
The 2023 Youth World Cup will be held in Bryan/College Station, Texas, where she will compete against youth from 16 different countries.
Liz Marmor is 17 years old and daughter of Lucretia and Kevin Marmor and granddaughter of Leslie and Latina Esquell.
Liz has lived her entire life in Devine and has been riding in American Quarter Horse events for only 5 years. She shows in both AQHA Performance events (horsemanship, trail, hunt seat equitation, and hunter under saddle) and in Reining. She was selected for Team USA out of hundreds of applicants.
“I have loved horses for as long as I can remember. As soon as I was able to talk, I began begging my parents for a horse, and when I turned 4, my parents bought my first horse. His name was Diego, and he was a paint gelding. My dad always tells me, ‘We always thought the horse thing was just a phase that most little girls go through, but we were very mistaken. Getting Diego for you just fed the fire.’ I feel that horses will remain a very central aspect in my life. I was recruited by multiple Division I NCAA college teams and have committed to Texas A&M’s NCAA equestrian team. Riding for Team USA at Youth World Cup is such an honor … GO TEAM USA!”
In a short interview, she told us a little bit about her relationship with horses and how theyhave helped her grow into the extraordinary young lady she is.
“My favorite thing about horses is how much they teach you, especially from the standpoint of realizing that every emotion does not have be expressed in words,” Marmor said. “They also teach you that you aren’t going to get very far being harsh or mean; the more understanding you are the more they are willing to give you and the further you get as a team.”
Marmor attends the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Yancey, and has previously served as the president of Devine 4H Horse Club.
Following undergraduate school, Marmor plans to attend medical school to study neurosurgery.
“The brain is so intricate, and there is very little that we know about it,” Marmor said. “It will definitely be a challenge, and I enjoy a challenge.”
More about the World Cup
Marmor and over one hundred youth competitors comprised from 16 other countries will compete in Bryan/College Station, Texas, from late June to early July, for this international showdown. Throughout the competition, each country’s riders will ride for gold medals in cutting, reining, horsemanship, ranch riding, trail, hunt seat equitation, hunter under saddle and showmanship.
The Youth World Cup is more than just a competition; it offers a chance for international American Quarter Horse enthusiasts to learn from the industry’s leading riders and trainers, as well as to build relationships with fellow youth from across the world.
To level the playing field, competing Youth World Cup team members do not show their own horses. The host country provides each team’s horses for clinics and competition. While at the event, five youth riders plus one coach and manager from each country will draw a pen of five horses from lots and have only two days to designate a horse from their pen for each event and must show every horse in their pen of five. Five additional youth from each country are invited by each international affiliate to attend the education and leadership portion of the week’s events and to cheer on their teammates according to AQHA.com.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is the pinnacle of a youth’s career in the Quarter Horse industry.
