We're all young and inexperienced. We've always had a tough region. To be the best you have to beat the best, and we've always had to go through them. We're all young, and Huntington has a lot of sophomores. We're just rebuilding now, but we'll get there.

We got it all around today -- great pitching to keep them off balance, some great defensive plays and some timely hitting. I'm really proud of them and hope this is a step forward for us toward the end of the season.

She gets to come home and see her family. It's nice for them and we all get to play some teams we don't normally see. We're all young, but it's good experience for the girls.

I like to see a guy ride with confidence. … He is competitive, and he has shown the ability to travel and compete everywhere he goes. And probably the guy I respected as a rider the most over the years -- Bailey -- told me he is the best young rider out there.

Obviously if you ask me, I'd like to see our colt's best distance be a mile and a quarter. … We weren't training this horse to win the Hopeful. We're training the horse for down the road, and the Hopeful is the next logical step.

This is the best time of the year.