Between Trail, Youth Mares, Youth Hunt Seat Equitation and Hunter Under Saddle and futurity classes, Thursday at the Congress was busy from start to a very late end around midnight.
Making A Trail Of Champions
Chesney Watkins guided his horse, The Company You Keep to a score of 236 in Level 1 Youth Trail 13 & Under.
“This is George,” Chesney said. “Yesterday in the Horsemanship, I was all nervous and tense, and today I just relaxed a bit more and let him do his job. The chute was pretty challenging, just because he’s so big and it’s hard for him to maneuver such a small space.
“My favorite part of the pattern was our first lope over to the right. I always love the trot overs and lope overs and the box in patterns. This is my first time winning here. It feels pretty great. We just bought George in January. He’s by One Hot Krymsun.”
In the Level 1 Junior Trail, Blake Weis took Made For Naturdays through the course to score 246 and claim the Congress championship for owner Mary Alice Nielson, and he also showed RV Not For Hire to the reserve title for owner Evon Werner.
“Natty is three years old, but he doesn’t act like a three year old. He loves his job. I showed him for the first time in Las Vegas, then at the NSBA World, and this is just his third show. He warms up better than he shows, but he just goes out and does it. He’s the type of horse that makes you smile every day. He’s really an old soul. He changes leads really well and we’ll also do Western Riding next year.
“Clay Arrington had both the first and second place horses, so they both came out of his program. He did a great job bringing them along. They are always so quiet and ready to show. We only looked for a horse for Mary Alice for two years, but there Natty was. He’s a Machine Made.
“There were a lot of lope transitions. Natty has such a big stride that he makes the distance like its nothing. In our trot serpentine, we didn’t get it one time in practice, but I changed my plan when we got out there and it worked. These two horses are very different in how they approach obstacles, but I know them really well.
In the Senior Level 1 Trail, Carley Veldman Parks showed Cheddar Bomb to the win for owner Taunya Momberger, with a score of 238.5.
Hunting Wins
In the Youth Hunter Under Saddle 11 & Under, Brynn Mathiason and Talldarknchocolate made a quick run from the Hunt Seat Equitation in the Coliseum to the Hunter Under Saddle class in the Celeste, but their efforts resulted in a Congress championship.
“I’ve been with Riley for two years. He’s by One Hot Chocolate. I ride with Ashley Montgomery. It’s kind of my running joke that third is always the best I’ve done here, and I just got third over in the Equitation. I’ve gotten third three times in three years here.
“He was just listening to me and not anticipating anything. Everything felt really good. I got my spacing and it was just perfect. I had to warm up in five minutes and go in the first split. But he was being really good.
Sandra Morgan’s stallion, Im Willy Fabulous has certainly lived up to his name. He took Sandra to the Congress championship in the Three Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle Stakes. “He’s just a lot stronger,” Sandra said. “He was great last year as a two year old, but he’s even better this year.
“He really was fabulous in the class, he trotted big and his lopes were beautiful. He didn’t spook when other horses ran into him in the prelim and he just charged right through it.
We will be going to the World Show, then Venice in Florida, and then I’ll have to let him go to the breeding shed for a while. But I will take him home for a little while – I like to have him to myself for a little while too! We’re all fighting over him.”
It was midnight when Nicole Giumenti was crowned the Congress champion in the Congress Super Sale Two Year Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Stakes with the Alpha And The Omega, but it was worth the wait for her and owners Whitney Swart and Benjamin Miller.
“Whitney and Ben raised Enzo, and I can’t thank them enough trusting me with their homegrown baby and giving me the opportunity to be a Congress champion. Enzo is such a kind and willing animal,” Nicole said. “It’s a dream come true. I’d take a barn full of Only Lopes N Dreams babies.”
First Time Congress Championship For Bill Hatten
Bill Hatten took Hot Under The Collar to his first Congress championship for owner Stephanie Hilgenberg in the $10,000 Limited Horse Limited Rider Maturity Western Pleasure. It was an emotional win.
“I was beginning to think that
“She’s just a mare who is very good at her job. She has a lot of frame, and you can do anything with her. She’ll show off the rail or on the rail and you can extend her if you need to or back off if you need to. She’s won at every horse show we’ve been to.”
Wickked Game and Blake Britton also picked up their second Congress win in a unanimous decision by the judges in the Congress Super Sale Two Year Old Limited Rider Western Pleasure Stakes.
The 2023 All American Quarter Horse Congress continues through Sunday, October 22. To view complete show results, please visit the Horse Show Tracker or quarterhorsecongress.com. You can also view the show’s live video feed at quarterhorsecongress.com/livestream.
