RESULTS Appy Costume Showdown 2025

What an incredible response to our first-ever Appy Costume Showdown.

We are absolutely blown away by the creativity, effort, and enthusiasm you've all shown. Every single entry was fantastic in its own unique way, making this incredibly difficult to judge!

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to...

Our Judges:

• Kate Hewlett of Kate's Riding Centre in Kerikeri, bringing years of successful eventing and instructing experience

• David Adkins of Double A Appaloosas, a longtime breeder and contributor to ApHANZ

Your expertise and time in carefully reviewing each entry is so appreciated!

Our Sponsors:

Thank you to Ileen Hunter of Kopanui Stud and Dianne Udy of DayDream Appaloosa Stud for generously donating prize pack goodies!

Our Entrants:

You are all stars! Every costume brought joy, creativity, and celebration of our beautiful Appaloosas. We hope you had as much fun as we did when we received your photos!

THE WINNERS ARE...

HORROR CLASS - Individual Horse

🥇 1st Place: Cathrine Hurley & DayDream Cool Man - Silage Wrap Zombie

🥈 2nd Place: Dianne Udy & Cayuse Frosty Winters Day - The Sinister Jester

🥉 3rd Place: Lada Myslikova & DayDream Gentleman Jack - Halloween Spider Jack

HORROR CLASS - Horse & Human

🥇 1st Place: Leah Hanger & Safe and Sound - La Catrina Day of the Dead

🥈 2nd Place: Piper Flett & Merrivale Dash of Class - Wednesday from the Netflix show 'Wednesday'

🥉 3rd Place: Hayley Bagrie & Merrivale Dash of Class - Vampire Duchess

CHARACTER CLASS - Horse & Human

🥇 1st Place: Sophia Thornton & Gotta Noble Dream - The Magical Unicorns

🥈 2nd Place: Leah Hanger & DayDream Fancy Smudge - Rainbow Brite and Starlite from the 1980s animated TV series

🥉 3rd Place: Emilee Andrew & Merrivale Dash of Class - Gumbooted Ballerina Duo

HERITAGE CLASS - Horse & Human

🥇 1st Place: Jackson Hanger & Marires Snow Leopard - Native American War Horse

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD 🗳️

🏆 Winner: Sophia Thornton & Gotta Noble Dream - The Magical Unicorns Jumping

This has been such a fun experience for our first year, and we're already excited about making the Appy Costume Showdown an annual tradition. Check out all the entrants in the photo gallery above and start planning for a bigger and better 2026!