Biography
Shawn Hays arrived at the 2024 World's Greatest Horseman with a resume that spoke for itself — NRCHA Million Dollar Rider, five-time AQHA World Champion — and added the WGH title to a career defined by achievement at every level of western performance. Riding MoonShineAndTwoAdvil, Hays delivered a championship performance built on exceptional cow work that drew the kind of crowd response that only comes when a horse and rider are operating at the absolute peak of their combined ability.
MoonShineAndTwoAdvil brought the athletic talent and natural cattle instinct that the WGH demands, and Hays brought the competitive experience and horsemanship depth to channel it into a championship performance. Hays had finished as reserve champion twice before reaching his first WGH title — a pattern of near-misses followed by breakthrough that the WGH has produced repeatedly in its history, and that makes the eventual victory all the more significant.
Hays' WGH title adds the sport's most demanding championship to an already exceptional career record. For a horseman who had already achieved recognition across multiple disciplines and competitive formats, the 2024 WGH represented the final major summit of reined cow horse competition — the one title that requires excellence across every dimension of the sport simultaneously, with a single horse and a single bridle.