For the second time this year Horse of the Show honors went to Credits for Heaven, affectionately known as “Hatch”. He has to be one of the most honest and easy horses I have ever had the honor to prepare and show. Sure he will make a mistake here and there, but they are so small that you forgive him the second they happen. Hatch was a rock star for me in both the Trail and Western Riding, and was equally famous for amateur Alyssa Neiberger in all of her events. Alyssa as you may know from past blogs is new to our program, but is picking things up very quickly. Armed with her new knowledge and more importantly her new outfit from Paula Duiri, she dominated the Trail and Western Riding, and started to turn up the heat in the Am Horsemanship. Great job Alyssa!!!!

Well folks, I predicted it, and it came true. We are still having some small trials with Smash Dude, aka Jethro, aka Hot New Career, but rider Dana Wetherell came from behind to grab her first Rider of the Show award!!! Jethro keeps us on our toes with how to get him ready, but Dana persevered and finished up winner both cards of her Horsemanship class and a refreshed look on all upcoming shows. Sorry Smash Dude, you are losing this battle. Look for big things in College Station from this team as we have a new approach that is bound to take us to the top.

We were not quite sure what to expect when Michelle Forness showed up with stories of adding her side arm to her attire the evening prior, but lucky for us she was not gunning for any of our team. I have always known she was a force to be reckoned with, but this took things to an entirely new level!! This was Michelle’s second show with new horse Star Studded Rolex, and if you ever questioned before this sealed my thoughts that if I ever have a green pattern horse to teach, Michelle Forness would be among a few at the top of my list to be the handler/rider. Before we arrived in OKC they have a Livestock show there leaving behind various different odors that were bothering most of the horses on the property, Duke being one of them. Michelle handles these problems with ease, and guided Duke to some very positive performances every time she walked into the pen. He may be green, but it will not take long for judges to start appreciating this wonderful gelding. This show also marked Duke’s first outing in the green trail, and other than being a bit worried about the flowers, he maneuvered the course quite well. I look forward to his our future together in the trail pen.

Emily Neiberger and Invitemeforchocolate have really started to turn some heads in the past couple shows. We still have a few bugs to work out on the second day of showing, however on the first day out of Emily is proving herself a force to be reckoned with. This past show she had two 1st and a 3rd in the Horsemanship against some strong competition. This show also marked our first Western Riding experience which had some dilemmas, but was not a complete tragedy. Let’s just say that there is room for improvement, but still some good things. Lol Shaggy rocked the open Western Riding taking all five 1st place awards. Give Emily a bit of time and she will be right there in the hunt as well.

I did not write a blog after the last show in Waco so I have failed to report to everyone that Shyanne Smith has a new partner in crime in A Well Oiled Machine. Most of you would remember Slick as Mayer Lindley’s former teammate. We have a bit of a late start in the qualifying game, however Shy and Slick are partnering up quickly and almost full steam ahead. Other than a few off pattern dilemmas they are staying right in the hunt of top placing’s every time out which is outstanding considering the two have only been together for less than a month.

This next month we start off in College Station and finish up in Waco. Look for those blogs coming at you by the beginning of May.

We went into the show with a light load in numbers, however carrying a heavy stick with talent. For the first time ever, horse of the show went to a non-competing equine. Duke, Michelle Forness’s new partner in crime captured the award for his first time of I am sure many to come. Rider of the show award went to Tim Kimura, capturing the big win in the Lady’s Showmanship class where all the participants dress in drag and are raffled off for charity. Congratulations Tim!

Our first chapter begins with Kim Allen and her horse Diesel. They are no strangers to bad weather, so the daily snowfall did not slow down these crazy Canadians as they took home the High Point Title for the Selects, with circuit awards in the Horsemanship, Equitation, and a tie in the Showmanship. This was Kim’s first show back since the Congress, and was an outstanding start on the year.

Though Dana Wetherell and Jethro, aka Smash Dude, started out slow, they finished extremely strong earning much needed Horsemanship points, and gaining complete control over our Showmanship patterns. We are learning more and more each time out on how to prep this dynamic team, and are only a few small steps away from complete domination over the competition. By the end of the next few shows I predict a rider of the show award in Dana’s future.

Tim may have won the Lady’s Showmanship, but his partner in that class, Kermit and rider Tiina Volmer won the circuit in the Am Showmanship, Equitation, and Horsemanship securing the Amateur Highpoint for I believe the second year in a row. (Not positive on that) Along with Dana, Tiina is gaining a lot more insight into how to properly prepare her horse, and the fruits of her labors have been paying off lately. Congrats Tiina on another great show.

I showed Debby and Morgan Brehm’s horse Hez All That in his maiden trail voyage and the Sr Western Riding. The trail had a few moments of greatness followed by a couple crash and burn obstacles, but hey what more can you expect for his first time out. The Western Riding went much smoother with a few top placing’s and some points to boot. With a few more runs under our belts I expect the Trail to be stellar as well.

To answer any questions, yes I did participate in the Lady’s Showmanship as well, and was proof that a great horse cannot always carry a less qualified handler. Kaleena Weekly generously offered me her multiple Honor Roll winner and Congress Champion Hours Yours and Mine. The one thing that came out of it, other than the $2500 I sold for to Jason Smith, was that Kaleena and Trainer Jason Gilliam now believe me when I tell them I cannot do a showmanship pivot to save my life!

On to the main event, we shall start off with Rider of the show Leena Volmer. I believe this may be a first for Leena in earning this award, and I must say it was very well deserved. Leena has made a solemn vow that she and Bosco were going to become true All Arounders adding in the Trail, Equitation, and Horsemanship to the mix in 2012. Leena had stellar performances almost every day in each of these classes, and brought home the circuit in the Novice Am Equitation when it was all said and done.

Leena’s young prospect, Harry, also made his debut in the show pen with Mandy piloting him around the Green and Jr Trail. They had a few rough spots in the middle, but by the end of the show Mandy was starting to place in the Green Trail consistently. Not bad for only being a 3 yr old. Most trail horses this age are praying not to crash on every obstacle let alone steer around one handed with clean patterns.

Horse of the show went to newcomer to the barn Credits For Heaven. This was our first outing with not only Hatch, but the rest of the Neiberger family, Todd, Lisa, Alyssa, and Emily; who herself just got a new partner. What a pleasure this horse is to show and have on a day to day basis. I placed every day in the Sr trail and Sr Western Riding with him getting as high as 3rd in the trail and 2nd in the Western Riding. Alyssa had moments of absolute greatness, but then do to learning Robin’s new program would have minor mistakes that seemed to knock her out of the placing. This may well be the best minded and easiest horse I have ever had the pleasure of showing. (Don’t worry Shag, you’re still my favorite. Lol)

Continuing on with the newcomers we have Emily Neiberger and Invitemeforchocolate. Yes you heard right, the shagmeister has a new mom. Lauren and Shaggy showed that they had nothing left to prove, so he got to move on and help another young lady achieve her dreams. Poor Emily was bombarded by me in trying to teach her as much as possible before tempting the dangerous waters of the 15-18 events. In their first outing they placed on all three cards as high as 2nd at one point, an outstanding achievement for their first event. Watch out AQHA because this Emily has the desire, the look, and the ability to take this roller coaster all the way to the top. Jenny and I would like to first thank Lauren and the Love family for all of their devotion and loyalty throughout the years, and second thank Todd and Lisa Neiberger for their faith in our program. I see a wonderful relationship brewing here. Don’t any of you worry; Lauren and I are back on the hunt for the next great one. You have not seen the last of the Love Child!!

Yes still more new to talk about. New to you the readers, but in her second show with us are Dana Wetherell and her horse Jethro. I did not introduce Dana properly in a blog from the show in Monroe, so I will do so now. Really this was our first show as Monroe was just a warm up for things to come. Dana and Jethro started slow, but finished the show huge with top placing’s in both the Showmanship and Horsemanship. We feel extremely fortunate to have this outstanding duo as part of our team!! As dedicated as Dana has been practicing the past few months, it won’t be long before she and Jethro are household names in the AQHA show world.

Paige Wacker, queen of the showmanship pen, has finally stepped out of her box and decided to become a full-fledged youth kid showing in the Equitation, Horsemanship, and Showmanship. If anyone ever questions Paige’s ability to get it done in the pen I invite them to watch a video of her showmanship from this show. With her hat nearly falling off the back of her head, Paige proved to all non-believers that she could pull off and sell just about any look. Now all we have to do is prove to the judges that missing our diagonal occasionally while trying to learn them is no biggy. For her first outing in multiple classes Paige did a wonderful job. Look for her in the near future to start knocking on some doors.

In talking about a full-fledged showman we move now to Tiina Volmer, the definition off an all-around competitor. Tiina and Take the Last Luke compete routinely in all classes from the Halter to the Trail to the Hunter Under Saddle. In fact Tiina shows in so many classes I am ashamed to say that often I miss getting to watch her show at events like the Sun Country due to conflicts in other arenas. The defending High Point Exhibitor from the 2012 Sun Country did not repeat her performance, however she did come quite close with top placing’s in all of her classes including the circuit award in the Performance Geldings. Tiina has dedicated her time this year to coming to the house more often and perfecting her Horsemanship and Equitation in an attempt to dominate the field. It can be a long road sometimes, but I have complete faith that she will accomplish her goal and then some.

Always entertaining at the shows is young Clay Arrington. I have to say young now because he is growing so much that little cannot cut it anymore. As many of you know Clay and his grandmother Vickie share RV Won Good Version in the show pen. Since her knee replacement Vickie has stuck to just the Trail with an occasional Horsemanship class here and there, but this time she busted out the old lead shank and added the Showmanship back into the mix. She may not have picked up right where she left off, but Miss Vickie has definitely not lost her touch. Nor has she lost her ability to lay down some of the best trail patterns any select has ever seen. Clay busted out of the box with high placing’s in the Showmanship and Horsemanship, and then concluded his masterpiece but winning a few of the 12-14 Trail cards. This will be the last time we see this dynamic team until the Youth World, so we wish Clay and Vickie the best of luck out on the road this spring.

Rounding out the blog is always entertaining Darlene Schwab and her horse I Am Dressed Western. This will be our last show together for a while since Darlene is going to take Lenny home for a bit and let him experience the Canadian winter. Sometimes we never really know what Darlene’s plans are when she hits the show pen, but this time out her plan was to dominate the Showmanship. (She says she hates the class, but I never believe much of what she says) Normally queen of the horsemanship, Darlene switched plans and had four strong days of showmanship, as well as a few outstanding trail runs. We wish Darlene all the best this spring, and plan to see her again at all the summer shows.

That about closes this year’s episode of the Sun Country. Like I said at the beginning other than a few days of torrential down pour the weather was sunny and beautiful and the show management team out there is second to none. Thank you for a great show!!

I am not sure that I could ever say I have seen a perfect pattern, but this duo laid the closest to perfect that I have ever seen in the Horsemanship finals this year. They were fast, they were aggressive, and they were elegant. They were everything that we strive for in our horse and rider teams, and we could not be more proud of their second Reserve World Title in the same number of years.

Next up on our list is Tiina Volmer. Tiina and her young horse Take The Last Luke, aka Kermit, made the finals of every class that she entered this year. The highlight of Tiina’s show most definitely would had to have been tying for Reserve in the Showmanship, Yes we lost the tie breaker, however just the fact that we were there is good enough for us. Unfortunately I think we may have used up all of our horse by the time the remainder of the classes finals came around. Kermit was trying as hard as he could to be a rock star, however being a newcomer to the all-around world he ran out of steam on us. Everyone had better watch out next year when we get a few more shows underneath us.

Michelle Forness and her horse Stretch Machine came into the show on a total roll from the Congress; unfortunately Stretch was not feeling it in Oklahoma City and had to sit out most of his normal classes. Our one highlight was making the Showmanship finals in stellar fashion. We may have just been a finalist this year, but as many of you know Michelle and Stretch just started their career with us and there is no way you have seen the last of them!!

Izzy Got It and Leena Volmer was our fourth and final Amateur to show at the World Show this year. Just like they have in every major event in the past this duo knocked it out of the park in the Hunter Under Saddle only to be let left in the lineup when the finalists were called. All I can to that is keep putting those amazing performances out there, and they cannot avoid you forever.

With the 2012 season at a close Jenny and I would like to thank all of our customers and their horses for an OUTSTANDING year. It seems like each year we get a bit stronger, and this one was absolutely no exception.