The inaugural Back To Berrien Futurity saw a new show in a familiar locations as the futurity got underway on Thursday at the Berrien County fairgrounds. Exhibitors saw picture-perfect weather, well-groomed grounds and stiff competition as the futurity classes began. The show was preceded on Wednesday by an AQHA Special Event Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure show.
With Longe Line, Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure futurity events, there was something for everyone throughout the day.
Living On Longe Line
The day began and ended with Longe Line classes, starting with the Non-Pro Hunter Yearling Longe Line and Non-Pro Western Yearling Longe Line and Super Sires Non-Pro Western Longe Line, and ended with the Open Hunter Longe Line.
Chad Mills took his entry, All Fancy Like, to the win in the first class of the day, Hunter Non-Pro Yearling Longe Line. “He’s by All Time Fancy, and I bought him from Trisha Yamber,” Chad said. “He’s pretty special because he’s out of Carl and Trisha’s These Irons Are Hot mare that she won so much with. We call him Slick. He’s just a nice horse, really good legged and shows really well. He’s big and strong, and he lopes up to his shoulder. He’s one of the biggest horses out there. He was reserve champion at the Pinto World in Amateur Pinto Longe Line.”
Another special part of Chad’s presentation was the fact that he showed in one of Carl’s show shirts.
The Non-Pro Western Longe Line saw 20 entries, which was divided into two splits to allow exhibitors and horses less time standing for score calculations and awards. Heather Caplinger showed Win N Doubt to win the Western Yearling Non-Pro Longe Line, earning $663 and the $1,000 color bonus with the No Doubt Im Lazy gelding.
“We bought him in July of last year, and his barn name is Sermon,” Heather said. “Lori Pritchard raised him and she named him after the Ohio State football player Trey Sermon. We bought him in July of last year. He’s just beautiful, and moves really well – he’s always the same when you show him. He’s also double registered, which we really liked.”
Peter Mead showed Willy RockNThe House to win the Super Sires Non-Pro Yearling Longe Line, earning $5,000 for the first place finish. His colt by Makin Me Willy Wild is out of Bestseatnthehouse and was bred by Dennis and Debbie Martin.
In the nightcap class, Anthony Leier showed SleepN Around for owner Kevin Griner to win the Open Hunter Longe Line, earning $617 for the win and a $1,000 Maiden bonus. “She was so good in her go,” Anthony said.
“She’s by Too Sleepy To Zip, and we love that bloodline – we won so much with a full sibling to this filly. I just love her. She is so easy and so laid back.”
Working On Western (Pleasure)
Kicking off the Western Pleasure classes was MakingEm Great Again and Mallori Bordic, who showed for owner Tali Terlizzi to win the Three Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure. They earned $2,580 for the win.’
“This horse is Harley, and he’s by Machine Made,” Mallori said. “I rode him for the first tie in January and so I’ve been riding him for about six months. We got him from Bret and Candy Parrish. He’s so giving, and does whatever you ask. He has the best heart.”
The Maturity Novice Horse Novice Rider Western Pleasure saw VS Bling Addiction and Scott Kohlmann win the class, earning $617.
“I bred and raised her,” Scott said. “She’s four years old and she’s by VS Code Red. She really gives her heart. This is our first futurity win. We aren’t sure where else we will show, maybe at the Congress.”
Lisa Feinberg and Good Vybes have only been a team for two months, but they are off to a quick start with their win in the Maturity Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure. They earned $627 for the win. “Jeff Cochran is my brother, and we had Vivian in the barn,” Lisa said.
“I had been looking for a show horse, and someone asked me if I had tried Vivian, and so I did, and it worked perfectly. She’s so easy and fun. This is our second show together – we won the Open and Limited Non-Pro at the Nebraska Cornhusker too.”
Houston Huff showed PK No Doubt Im Lazy to win the Open All Age Color Western Pleasure for owner Dillon Price. The No Doubt Im Lazy mare is a double registered AQHA and APHA mare. “She’s seven years old, and she’s won the Novice Amateur Showmanship and Performance Halter Mares at the NSBA World Show,” Dillon said.
“We plan to show at the NSBA World Show, and we’ll be showing in the $2,500 Limited Western Pleasure and Color Western Pleasure classes."
In the Novice Non-Pro All Age Western Pleasure, Its Martini Time and Audrey Thomas took the win and $624. “I’ve had her for just over a year, and she’s five years old,” Audrey said. “She’s always the same – she’s a good girl. This is our first futurity win, and it feels really good.” The duo plans to compete at the NSBA World Championship Show and the All American Quarter Horse Congress.
Hunting Wins
In the Maturity Novice Horse Novice Rider Hunter Under Saddle, Timeless Assets and Kendall Vandevelde took the win, earning $734. “He’s five years old, and his first time toshow was earlier this year,” Kendall said.
“Showing Hunter Under Saddle is not something I thought I would be doing, because I’m more of a Western Pleasure person, but this horse is sort of special to me. I had both an English and a Western Longe Liner, but he was really gangly when he was younger, so we didn’t push him. He sat on the back burner, but I really wanted to show him. It’s been a nice surprise that it’s gone so well.”
The Maturity Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle saw In It For The Assets and Kathryn Norton take the win, earning $648. “I bred and raised ‘Luke,’ and he is the last baby by my mom’s mare, that we lost,” Kathryn said.
“He hasn’t been shown a lot. My mom and uncle both had health issues, so I hadn’t shown consistently since probably 2015. He is a lot of fun to show. He has great rhythm and holds himself together well. He’s figuring it out. Beckey Schooler and Austin Lester really had him ready for me.”
The Three Year Old Open Novice Horse Hunter Under Saddle saw a tie for the first place award, with Walk N After Midnight and Judy Zeitler, showing for Lauren Danielson, and Made To Sleep, shown by Farley McLendon for Rebeca Edward, each earning $655.10. Judy won the tiebreaker for awards.
A small but mighty Three Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle class saw Jus The Best and Mavis Goertz taking the win, earning $670. “Maserati was the reserve champion in last year’s Congress Masters class, and a good friend had bred him,” Mavis said.
“We happened to stop in Ocala last fall to see the facility, and I found him and fell in love with him. He’s my dream horse – he’s tall, dark and handsome! Ever since we got him, I just love him. This is our first win together, and I just thank Duane and Amber Pickard for all their help with him.”
In a new class offering Back To Berrien, the Four Year Old Open Hunter Under Saddle saw RockStar Status and Amber Hanson Pickard, showing for Starland Ranch LLC, take the win and $2,459.
“It’s really nice to have this class to show against the same age horses,” Amber said. “It levels the playing field, because you’re not showing against six year olds or other horses that have lots of wins in their lifetime.
“I was really happy with our go – he was so soft in my hands, stayed steady and had good rhythm.
The Back To Berrien Futurity continues through Saturday, June 25. To view complete show results, please visit the Horse Show Tracker app or visit foxshowservices.com.
